What do these statistics mean for dealers? New small operators with new loan sources means new opportunities to sell equipment.  

Tractors under 40 horsepower also had year-to-date gains of 11.7%. U.S. retail sales for 2WD tractors of 40-100 horsepower declined 5.0% in November and were down 4.2% year-to-date.

Continuing solid demand for many of the new products handled by many rural lifestyle equipment dealers, including compact, utility and garden tractors as well as ATVs, is helping to maintain the valuations of used equipment.

For the third year in a row, lawn and garden equipment maintained its top spot on farm equipment dealers’ ranking of “Best Bets” list of products they believe will increase unit sales in 2017. And not too far behind are compact tractors (under 40 horsepower) in the #2 spot, and #5 on the list is utility tractors (40-100 horsepower).