Across the countryside, more and more “barn finds” are surfacing at retirement auctions, and they’re breaking records. These are the tractors, combines, and implements that spent most of their lives parked inside, maintained meticulously, and used sparingly. Now, as a wave of long-time farmers retire, those low-hour, pre-DEF machines are suddenly finding their way to auction blocks where buyers are eager to pay top dollar.

A John Deere 7810 That Shattered Expectations

One of the latest examples came out of Viroqua, Wisconsin, where a 2002 John Deere 7810 2WD with only 915 hours sold for $158,392, breaking the previous record by more than $45,000. The seller was an 89-year-old farmer who had held onto the tractor for years, using it lightly around the farm.

Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson, who tracks auction results nationwide, called it a classic “barn find.” “You don’t see them very often, but they’re out there, more often than people think,” he said. “These pre-DEF, low-hour machines always attract big money.”

Retirement Sales Reveal Hidden Gems

The same week, a 1990 Case IH 7120 FWD with over 4,000 hours sold for $61,000 at a BigIron.com retirement auction in Iowa, the second-highest result ever for a 7120 with that kind of usage. Even older machines are drawing surprising attention, like a 1988 Case IH 1660 combine that brought $15,250. These numbers aren’t random spikes; they signal how strong the market remains for dependable, well-maintained legacy equipment.

What’s Fueling the Surge

According to Peterson, total farm equipment auctions are up more than 14 percent through September compared to last year. The trend isn’t slowing down either. He expects a wave of “whole farm fleet liquidations” heading into late 2025 and 2026 as more farmers step back from active operations.

“Right now, we’re just on the front end of this,” Peterson said on AgriTalk. “The end of the year is going to be very busy as far as the number of auctions. There are all these stressors and uncertainties out there, and the average farmer is older than me, and I’ll be 60 in a few weeks. There’s going to be a lot of auctions.”

The Opportunity Ahead

For buyers, this wave of retirements could be a rare opportunity to acquire gently used, proven equipment that’s hard to find new, especially pre-DEF models that many farmers prefer for their simplicity and reliability. For sellers, it’s proof that care and maintenance can pay off decades later, especially in today’s climate of high demand for quality used iron.

Tractor Tuesday’s own upcoming December auctions will feature similar opportunities for both sides of the market. Whether you’re looking to sell a barn-kept gem or track down one of your own, the next few months could be among the most active and most rewarding times in years for farm equipment auctions.