Planning for an auction to sell out

I am seriously thinking about selling out my line of equipment. I have only farmed 6 years, 50 acres hay only the 1st 3 years, then grew to 100 hay and 220 corn/soybean rotation. I only own 25 acres, the rest is rented. I have a full line of equipment, mostly 6 row sized stuff. Older Ih tractors ranging from a 460 diesel to a 756, 1256, 1456, 1486, 3588. More than I needed, I know. Some of these tractors really have some good collector value. All run great, several with newer paint jobs that I did myself with automotive paint. JD 7000 6 RN planter, 45' sprayer, JD 4400 combine with corn and bean heads. A 499 New Holland haybine, 644 New Holland Round baler and lots of other smaller valued equipment such as tillage, gravity boxes, augers, etc. It has been fun gathering up this equipment and making it work. Also, as the size of the farm grew it felt good and I was proud to see my operation working and growing. Then this past fall came. I turned 40 and started looking at life a bit differently. Soybean harvest drug on, then I decided to hire out the corn harvest as it was getting late. Corn yeilds were bad and the prices were worse. Got no tillage done. It was kinda nice not having to worry about corn harvest, the guy I hired combined it and hauled it to the elevator. I spent my time working on my other business of being a landlord of 20 single family homes. I realized that my passion for farming was not a deep as I thought it was. Then a month or so later, I lost the 50 acres of ground neighboring my house that I had been renting that I had planned to buy someday, the local BTO bought that. This deflated me a bit more. The passion just ran out. I had an auctioneer out to look at my equipment and am thinking about booking a sale date for early to mid March. I know I would miss the farming and it will be hard to see the tractors go, but I think down the road I will feel that I made the right decision. I'm just a small farmer in a big sea, my farm would need to grow an awful lot to be a respectable size and I just don't want to make that type of investment in equipment or land. Plus, I really need to be concentrating on my house rental business. My time is much better served there. My son would be crushed, he has all the equipment that I do for his carpet farm, but he is only 4, not sure that this is that big of deal, but something that I think about. On one hand, I struggle to book the auction, on the other I feel that if I don't do it this year it would likely just be a year or 2 down the road. The market for my equipment will be even worse a year or 2 down the road as I only see the ag economy getting worse in that time. I am not being forced to quit by the banker or my wife, it is just myself wondering if farming is really the best use of my time and money each year? I have recently bought an older car that I want to spend time cruising around in with my wife and 2 young kids (4 and 7). I have friends that are farmers, I'm sure I can pick up some tractor time helping them out.

I guess I'm just looking for someone to tell me that I am not crazy for thinking about giving it up. We have also discussed selling our home and moving to the neighboring school district which is much better than the one we live in currently. If we do move, I think that could make quitting the farm much easier for me too. It could just be a whole new start of something new then. Been looking for a place that direction, but haven't found anything yet. I'm running out of time if I want to be moved prior to planting time next Spring. I really do believe that our kids would get a much better education in that school district. It is also the school district that I attended as a kid.

I did talk with my tax preparer about selling out, the tax consequences are not as bad as I feared. I would take my proceeds from the sale and pay down some debt on the rental properties, so the money would be working for me there. If I could just pull the emotions out of this decision I think it would be an easy decision to call the auctioneer, its just that those emotions make me 2nd guess myself.

Enough of that, now a couple questions.... What do you think of a weekday auction, maybe a Thursday? This was the auctioneers idea, he says he has seen good success from weekday auctions. Not sure what I think of that and am curious on your thoughts.

Anything else that I should be thinking about at this point? I appreciate all opinions. Thanks
 
I think you have your head on straight and are thinking right. It seams once a person makes up his mind, you cannot make it happen fast enough. You only go around once. I've done a lot of different things in my life and do not regret doing any of them. I was born and raised on a farm and now at age 64 am back farming again. Maybe when your kids are out of school you will want to farm again. You do not have to justify any of your decisions to anybody. I always say-as long as you don't owe me any money, I don't care what you do-
 
Part-time farming takes all your time and energy and often you still lose money. With small children, I think farming like you have been doing would be very hard, and would take time away from them. I now grow some produce and we all enjoy it, but I only started doing it when the kids were old enough to help and even earn their own money. There is more money in produce than grain farming, and you don't have to go into big time debt to get started. I know a few guys who tried to farm on the side, and it seemed to me that their families suffered more than they gained.
 
Farming can be very rewarding from the personal enjoyment stand point butttt it can also become a burden real easy. If the firs is not burning as bright as it was then you maybe should think of changing gears.

One big thing your said that stuck out to be is the fact you have young children. Managing 20 rental properties and trying to farm would take the majority of your time. You kids will only be little once. I missed too much of my kids younger days. Then you talking about this other school district being a better place for your kids. Their education can only be done right ONCE!!!

So lets leave the "lifestyle" issue out of this for a moment. The rental properties will generate a better cash flow and profit over time than farming small time. There is not going to be much money in row crop farming the next few years. This is truthfully the norm. The high prices of the last 5-8 years is not the normal thing. So from the purely business stand point getting out of the farming HOBBY is a clear winner.

Now comes the hard one. Can you get enough personal satisfaction out of your other business to negate quitting farming??? This is the lifestyle part I am talking about. That is a question only your and your wife can answer.

From a business side and kids education side it is an easy decision. The real issue is are you ready for a different goal/lifestyle???

P.S. Just remember you can always farm later in life too. How many of the fellows on this very site farm a little after their kids are grown or they retire???
 
I will caution that you will probably be mad and disappointed with the auction results. Especially after the auctioneer takes his cut. Others simply will not appreciate your equipment like you do, and most come to auctions seeking a bargain.
 
A lot of rurally raised now city folk are returning to their roots. Buying 20,40 60 120 acres for small time farming. They also work in town and farm for fun. Their operations may or may not actually make money. But the equipment you have falls into their category of needs. I would think a Saturday or Sunday afternoon auction sale will give you your best crowd. This farming operation plus your rental management and maintenance business uses a lotof time. Your children are now getting started in sports scouts 4-H. Juggling all those things with a crop to put in or get out, with hay to make, which of your child's activities are you going to miss. Of course Mrs. needs to see you occasionally also. just my thoughts gobble
 
good evening picassomcp, reading your post and with all the things you have going on I would say you would be making the right move, imo I would have a weekend auction as you will have a lot more people there. my wife caters auctions for different local auctioneers and the weekday auctions usually have a lot smaller crowd, and they are the hardcore bargain hunters and scrap dealers. if you have a weekend auction there will be a lot of people like yourself who work in town or full time job during the week but live on a few acres or more and do part time farming. the equipment you have is what these people are looking for. and down the road if you get tired of town life and the kids are grown you can always look for a small farm, as others have said here you only have the one chance to watch your kids grow up and they only have one chance at a good education.
 
I raised cattle and made hay for about 10 years, after I got married. I, too, was losing my passion for working a day job all week and then trying to farm at night and on weekends, and the key factor for me was that I was missing most of the stuff my kids were doing. I've never regretted getting out of it. I even found time to go fishing once in awhile!

I'd sure think twice about the weekday auction- is the auctioneer just trying to book more auctions that way? Local auctioneer here is about as sharp as anyone, and he hasn't had a weekday auction in many years. Weekend will bring out many more folks who are interested in your type of equipment.
 
You might look into selling it on line. I watch the auctions on auction time and that give me a chance to buy equipment that I would not even know was for sale. I understand your situation as I have 5 kids from 18 month to 15 and work a day job sometimes 7 days a week,farming nights and weekend.
 
I would go with a weekend auction only. The folks wanting to buy your stuff are like you, small part time farmers that are at work during the week. Most full time farmers can go any day, and probably want bigger stuff
 
Go with your feelings. If you don't have the passion, maybe keep the 460 and a few items to do some hay or whatever you like to do on your 25 acres. Sell the rest and restore the 460 or whatever you keep.
 
Around here(Middle West Wisconsin) lately the online auctions have been moving a lot of equipment and there seems to be few weekend auctions live. One has online and live at random times. The online ones usually end on Monday or Tuesday. Back in 92 when I had my auction it was a miserable day and junk dealers cut up most of the equipment right on the front lawn so be careful about expectations. Now I fit in the group that wants a couple acres just to play on.
 
Personally I think I'd draw back to the 25 acres you own,then keep a core group of tractors and equipment suited to a small farming operation so if you or your son decides to farm in the future you won't be starting from scratch.A couple years ago I cut my cattle numbers to about 1/4 of what I had,gave up all the rented pasture land,now I'm making way more profit per cow than I was plus I've cut my work load way back and the only hay I cut is off my place is on rent free land.Even had one place I rented for pasture with the fences going down given to me rent free to cut the hay to keep them in land use for taxes.As far as an auction its a rare thing I go to an auction that the seller gets anything close to what they think the tractors/equipment
is worth sometimes they are right sometimes they just have unrealistic expectations,go to some auctions in your area to see how things are selling.
 
Don't kid yourself, you will be second-guessing and regretting regardless of which direction you go, but it sounds like you're much more biased towards selling out than struggling to continue.

If your tractors have good collector value and aren't all clapped out, and it sounds like yours are, you'll do okay no matter what day of the week you have the auction. Your main market will be collectors and BTOs looking for "toys" and they can come any day of the week. Or they'll be like me and take a day off work.
 
I agree with a fair amount of the others. You have taken inventory of the situation and selling down looks to be the most logical choice. As the others have said maybe hang on to the land if practical because once gone it is gone. I was in a situation where I had to sell some ground a bunch of years ago and although I had no choice it eats at me today that I no longer have it. As far as the auction goes the auctioneer knows the best plan of attack for your area. Around here doing it during the week tends to be normal although this past December there were a handful of Saturday sales. If you are not pressed time wise maybe sell a couple pieces online and see how it goes. If it does well you could do the rest that way. You would most likely draw from a larger crowd that way. The snow bird down in Florida can watch and if he wins he can send somebody from home to finish up for him. I know in some ways you feel glum as though some sort of defeat has been forced upon you. Realize that this landlord situation is going to provide income and you don't have to go begging for a job like many who are forced out by the bank.
 
When my wife died in 2010, I pretty much got out of the farming business. Sold off some nice stuff for peanuts. Big mistake. Regret it to this day. I'm back in it and going strong kicking myself for my mistake.

On selling, your nice equipment would bring you the best price on an individual basis I would think. A bit of trouble on your part, but well worth the effort.

Selling off in a lot is lowball income, plus having to pay the auctioneer, and having a mob prowling around and trying out something with which they may not be familiar, possibly damaging something in the process, bringing down the price offered. No thanks. BTDT
 
Picasso, if you do decide to go forth with this, have a Saturday auction for the reasons several have posted. There are only so many Saturdays in March and April, your auctioneer probably wanted to keep those dates open for bigger sellouts so he is encouraging you to go weekday.
Sounds like you have two good options - keep your 25 acre place and a couple pieces of equipment, OR, sell out completely and move to the better school district. You can bum tractor time off your friends/neighbors when you need a farming fix. Win-win for all involved. Also, as you are out rolling hay for your neighbor as storm clouds gather on the horizon and the gearbox breaks on the round baler, you will be reminded of why you got out of this craziness we call farming.....
 
i did what you talking about 10 -15 years ago. but i was good size 2000 acres cattle hogs etc. but by time you got all done end of year you just as well worked at mcdonalds. never seen kids, missed alot of their stuff etc. today i sleep whole lot better, if it rains or no rain i could care less. i have rented land all out did machinery assembly for seven years, now do lawmower sales and service out iof my farm shop, last seven years. this will probably close this season.long story short ther is life after farming and it normally is always positive cash flow unlike farming was. i have made money every year since got out of playing in the dirt. i sold all my stuff off privately. it was all gone in less than year time.
 

Weekend sale will produce the best turnout. Sales will still be pennies on the dollar for what you have, but better than nothing. Also better than trying to sell it all yourself. Press for a weekend sale or find an outfit that will do that and find out what kind of publicity or advertising they have in mind.
 
I farmed 40 acres of hay on the side for several years while working as an engineer. I loved making hay because that was my favorite time back on the farm. At a certain point it turned into a ton of work for little or no profit and no fun anymore. I only owned 5 acres and the people I rented from were the only ones who made any money. I didn't have much equipment so I just sold it myself. I didn't feel bad about it at all. I now buy and sell and collect so I still get to play with equipment.

I work for an auctioneer part time in retirement. If I were you I would talk to several auctioneers, get references and look at their sale results. I would go with a company that does both online and live. If you have a lot of small items, you will get a much bigger crowd on a Saturday. Some auctioneers and their staff don't like working on Saturdays so they book weekdays. I personally don't see any advantage for a weekday auction vs. possible advantages for a Saturday. In central Minnesota you can send your kids to any school district you want to. You don't have to move. I wouldn't sell the equipment, sell the farm site, and move all at once. I would do it in steps. Keep some favorite items as others have said. As far as price you get on an auction, it is somewhat of a crap shoot but you can protect a few of the bigger items if the sale is a bust. A good auctioneer can give you a pretty accurate appraisal so you know what to expect. I have talked to a lot of people after auctions and they always say that they thought some things sold too cheep but the check was right on what the auctioneer said it would be or even slightly more.
 
From reading your post it sounds like you have thought things out and just need that little push to make your decision final.

Something I read years ago that has always stuck with me was from an interview with some big time businessman.

He was asked about some of the big decisions he had to make over the years and how he went about it.

His answer was I flip a coin.

The interviewer was shocked he would make multi million dollar decisions on the toss of a coin until he explained.

In you heart and in your gut you already know what to do.

If you are happy with the coin toss result then go full steam ahead.

On the other hand if you have to second guess the coin toss then as you already knew in your gut it was the wrong way to go so you simply go back to your other plan.

Really no different than upping your bid at an auction. asking your gal for her hand in marriage or starting a new career.
You are being cautious which is good but deep down you know the answer to your question already.
 
If you don't have a mountain of small stuff to sell off, skip the live auction, or take it all to a consignment sale and have it sold together and represented as a one owner sellout. Well maintained stuff that is represented by the seller does well at consignment sales. It's the random stuff that sells cheap. Anymore, on-farm auctions are only for people who are cleaning out their parent's estate and don't want to do the work of shoveling out barns full of junk.

If you do decide to do it anyway, go to the auctioneers other auctions and see how well he does. I've been to some pretty poorly run sales and there are a few auctioneers around here that I won't go to their sales let alone hire them to sell.

If it were me in your shoes, I'd sell the big ticket items on an online auction site. I'm sure you haven't had the chance to collect sheds full of junk yet. If you have, rent a dumpster.
 
Well my son is seven also .For my I would like my son to grow up in the country so they can experience that life.Hang on to the twenty five acres let someone else cut the hay for now.Someday youll be stressed out from a rental and be able to come home and country air is little more relaxing than a subdivision. Yes school district are different but the grass isn't always greener on the other side as schools go. Maybe you wont farm much but having kids growing up on big piece of land is different than in town. Whats the kids hobbies,do they play outside a lot. Just my 2 cents thanks
 
Do not sell your home to move, if you want to move fine but hang onto the home-ground you have and put it into the rentals,Later if you want to get back to farming you will still have it to go back to. And if you do not at this time feel like farming just rent the 25 acres out, you can always go back to farming it. And DO NOT consider an online auction only as a lot of people seeing something online is only on line they will not even look the rest of the way to see what you have. Now taking bids prearanged with auctioneer is OK as long as you anounce what you are doing. NO Sunday auction as a lot of potential bidderes would have to decide between Church or sale and Church would win out. But give the buyer the chance to get what they bought on sunday or even 2 weeks to get it. I was to an auction a couple of years ago that had what I would have paid a good price for but everything had to be removed that day so I had no chance to buy it and it went for junk instead of use as I would have wanted. And you need to have the loading equipment avaible at the time the buyer can get it even if it is the 2 weeks down the road. The person that would buy it that has a full time job and lives a hundred mile away if he does not know there will be a way to get it loaded like a head for the combine will not even come to the sale. And have it so that the potential buyer can lok at things up to 2 weeks before sale so he can make all arangements to be ready to be able to bid either in person or on the phone. He might have to arange financing at bank or transportation. If things cannot be done ahead of time he just will not bid. And make sure if not a complete correct description in add that auctioneer can answer correctly questions about things buyer needs to know before driving that hundred mile to find out it is not what he is looking for and leave before sale starts angrey. Also when loading starts out the first person ready to get loaded should be the first one loaded and not the last one like I had at one auction a few years back. And that auction was a 2 day one and items for first day and second were not seperated by day. So when the auctioneer was going down the line and would skip what you were waiting on and when you ask about it say that does not sell today but tomorrow so you do not go back tomorrow with no chance to bid on what you want. I will not go to a auction by that auctioneer ever again even if there is advertised what I want. And an auctioneere friend of mine was with me that day to help by as the bill said going to have 2 rings and I was after several items and could not run from one auctioneere to the other and be biddig from at same time. He being an auctioneer said it was the worst run auction he had ever heard of. And if 2 rings make sure it is listed how the order of sale is to be so buyer knows if he has to have a helper or not.
 
And the auctioneers if good ones will say do not do that as what you want to put in that dumpsterr will bring the most money of anything at the sale.
 
You can also put a reserve on some items if you feel a need to but the bill should say sells with reserve, if item does not bring wahat reserve is auctioneere shouls ask you do you want to let go at bid price, if not they should say what reserve was and ask if anybody will meet it. But they should also take absentee bids but with that it shall be in writing where the other bidder can see it upon request and include bidders name, address, phone number, what item is and amount of bid. And this is required on absentee bids by law. Auctioneere friend had problems at consignment sale few rears back because someone was complaining that owner was on site running things up but the owner was several states away at that time and no phone bids taken. Took several years before things got cleared up with state licencing board.
 
I'm gonna sound like a real mean guy here, but the nature of my job is such that I sit in an office 3-4 months of the year and hear people's sad stories while I compile a tax return for them. Some have REALLY terrible stories. Some just are whiners who cannot deal with life. I'm just going to tell you that if you are moping around like this because you turned 40...and don't kid yourself, you are...then you are ill prepared for your 50's. Upset because a BTO took your field? Well guess what? That is what they are all about. BTO can also mean Big Time Overhead and they need to be aggressive about finding and keeping land. I am a small guy and most of the BTO's around me won't even waive as they drive by in their house sized tractors. They would like nothing better than to see me throw in the towel. I'm also quite a bit older than you and feel like having an auction most every day. I also have kids and I involved them in every aspect of what I do and made it fun for them. I can tell they would like to do more, but I want them to get professions of their own so they can enjoy the farm free of financial worries. If I were you, I would at a minimum keep the equipment to work the small acreage you own and enjoy it. If you are still wanting to sell off a bunch of equipment or quit entirely there is a better tax path. You may want to give your tax person a bit of a push on the topic see can they help you out.
 
I"m sure you"re a bit north of me, so because of weather, I"d consider no earlier than April for a sale, and a Saturday, since you have smaller equipment, which part-timers are more likely interested in. No absolute reason to have it in the Spring, either. Consider just selling down, not out, and do some hobby farming. In MN, we have open enrollment...your kids can enroll in any district. Our school district (EV-W)is one of the best in MN, been nationally recognized for academics....we gain many more open enrollment than what we lose. Leroy has a lot of good advice for your situation.
 
I agree Leroy. When we had the auction for pa's equip the auctioneer said "Don't throw anything away, I'll get you a buck for it"
 
The auctioneer is supposed to be working for you. A week day auction sounds like he's not giving your auction his full attention.

Also, advertising is a must if you want to get a crowd. Is your auctioneer known for advertising all over? Posters around town, local papers, local farm publications, internet, etc? Make no mistake, he will bill you for all the advertising so it's up to you how much you want to spend to get the word out, but he will be the one responsible to get it done.

Does your auctioneer have a lunch wagon he can call on or a ladies church group that would sell barbecues and pies? No profit to you but does bring more people who come for the food and socializing. They usually can't help themselves and will bid on something they didn't know they needed before they arrived.

Most importantly, make a list of all the big ticket items that makes up the bulk of your sale and decide in your mind what they are worth and what value you would like to get out them. Now add up the numbers, cut the total in half and prepare yourself for the possibility that that's all your gonna get on an auction. Plus you have to give the Auctioneer a cut for giving away all your stuff.

Now you can balance in your mind what it's worth to you to have an auction.
The negatives: Might not get much for your stuff. Still have to pay the auctioneer. Lots of people crawling around your place.
The positives: Auctioneer does all the work. All your stuff is sold and gone in one day including all the junk from the sheds right down to the scrap iron pile. You don't have to do any advertising for months on end and deal with constant phone calls, tire kickers and no-shows or bad checks.

Time is money, but if you like to haggle and twist with people then sell your own stuff, but you may get to a point where you just want to be done with folks on your place taking up your time and you'll end up giving stuff away anyway just to get the process over with.

Just another thought no one has mentioned. If you don't have enough for a sale with quantity or quality to draw a big crowd, then maybe combine your sale with a neighbor or talk to your surrounding neighbors to see if they have any equipment they would like to consign to your sale. Just be careful it isn't a machine the same as yours in better condition or it won't help you any. My two cents.
 
I believe that I would keep the 25 acres that you own and a few pieces of equipment that you like and need to maintain the property. If your children want to do critters for 4H then you will still have the property to do that. Who knows, one day they may want to farm themselves and then they will not have to start from scratch. I would want my children to see the farm as something enjoyable, even if it is small.

Our area has open enrollment for schools. Is it within a reasonable driving distance to let your children go to the neighboring school district? Knowing of course that you would have to drive them to and from school everyday.

Taking care of 20 properties and dealing with renters is a full time job in itself. You stated that you have debt on some of those properties. Is it possible to sell some of those less profitable properties and put that money towards getting out of debt on the others? Once you are debt free and a little more stress free you could always add other properties as you move forward.
 
I agree that you shouldn't throw away anything but the auctioneer should. He isn't doing you any favors by taking time trying to sell junk. People will give up and go home or if online it will fill the catalogue so full they won't look at it all. On the other hand he will find some hidden treasurers. We do a lot of estate sales and we fill several dumpsters at each one. Besides, it gives the dumpster divers something to do.
 
I think I can grasp hold of some of you thoughts. I had wanted to farm since I was old enough to ride on a tractor. My parents didn't want me to farm because my dad see a future in it. His brother and sister-in-law did about everything they could to try and drive me away, because they wanted me out of the way. There was even an attempt at a hostile takeover. Another uncle let me manage the crop production on his farm, which he had custom farmed by a BTO, admitted his yields were better than ever, but wouldn't let me get into farming on his land. The competition for local land resources grows more intense by the year, and I will not rent anything that I cannot at least make some money on. I had a farm, owned by a family friend who died a few years ago, which was offered to me to rent by an heir, but I also know what the fool is paying for cash rent, too. I will not bleed a bunch of red ink for the sake of farming a tract of land. What I have came too hard in the first place, and I cannot and will not run the risk of losing any of it. I am a part time farmer and have a decent job in town. My hope is to retire from that job a few years early and actually enjoy what I am doing at least in the last years I am working. I do have a good fleet of equipment and it is all paid for. I do lack a few pieces of equipment, though, but if worse came to worse, I could hire a friend to do some of this work, too. I feel my life as a farmer, or want to be farmer, has been a constant state of retreat, and where I am at is the last line of defense. My parents are in good health and own one tract I farm, which is the bulk of what I farm. My parents get a decent rent check from my farming the land. They could probably get a bit more if they did cash rent it out, but my dad at least wants to give me a bit of a break since farming had always been my dream. Both of my parents feel they let me down in not helping me get started a lot sooner. I guess I don't feel that way, as the 29 years I have spent in the real world has provided a living, a decent career, a funding mechanism for a decent retirement, health insurance, and a whole lot of professional experiences. I will keep doing as I am doing as I am not going to go broke at this time, but I will not be getting rich either. My parents have a decent check from the rent and they are happy to see me, rather than somebody else on the farm.
 
Hi Craig2,

You have identified my new game plan for life. Reduce debt and maximize any leverage (debt) that I have. I have been spinning my wheels pretty hard for the last 10 years and feel like I haven't lived life to the fullest. Now its time to get rid of the properties that are not working as hard as some of the others and then pay down debt on the ones that are working. I feel like this will let me smell the roses of life while not affecting cashflow. Hanging up the farming will have a bit of the same effect as well. Thanks for your input! Have a great day
 
I'm kind of addressing both of your posts. Most auctioneers discourage having reserves as it discourages attendance. If not sure about how something is going to do in a regular sale then it is best to hold it out and arrange to sell it via another means. It's very rare to have loading two weeks after a sale at least around here. Financing, trucking, etc. should all be worked out ahead of time and those that fail to do so often wind up sticking the auctioneer and seller with the item so then that item has to go back through a sale some place. A lot of people are adamant about Saturday sales and so forth but I am not sure how much that matters. I don't see a lot of Saturday sales booked here and it is not because the auctioneer is holding the dates for a more prized sale. They just don't happen often so the auctioneers tend to be twiddling their thumbs a lot of Saturdays. Most people do not hold 9-5 M-F jobs anymore. In the past few years I went to three sales that happened in January and the weather was brutal each time and that did not affect bidding one bit. Most attendees are there to buy. I think having an auction late in spring often hurts prices as people want to buy planters, tillage, and tractors early enough to go through them for repairs and maintenance. Agree with you on not having a huge pile of junk to sell but that does not sound like the situation here. Agree in that it would be good to go to an auctioneer's sale to know if you think he is right for the job. Also, some offer online bidding but not necessarily for each and every sale. If you are worried about having a sufficient crowd give definite thought to this.
 
My dad grew up on a farm-left it before he met mom to go to bible college and became a preacher. There is rarely a day goes by I don’t wish he had farmed, so I’d have a chance at it!
I know it’s up to you, but others are affected by this decision too!
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:01 01/16/18) The auctioneer is supposed to be working for you. A week day auction sounds like he's not giving your auction his full attention.

At least one auctioneer in this area absolutely will NOT hold an auction on a Saturday. Even for 100% commission.

Firmly believes that Saturday is the worst day to hold an auction. Why? I can only speculate. Maybe because all the other auctioneers are having their auctions on Saturday and that cuts into the potential crowd? Again I can only speculate.

There really hasn't been a good quality equipment auction in the area in a while. Prices are generally low, but then most of the equipment has been rode hard, put away wet, then rode hard again.

Whoever suggested a consignment sale should have his head examined. At least around here, consignment sales are for JUNK, and everything brings JUNK price, even if it looks good (figure lipstick on a pig). If you want a good price, have a dedicated auction of your own, whether it's live or online. You'll do far better than any JUNK auction.
 
Having had my own auction a couple of years ago, my suggestion to you would be, that unless you have a lot of small items, try to sell things on your own. If you have a lot of eqt, then for certain an auction is a good thing. The trouble is, unless you are extremely lucky, your eqt will likely go for pennies on the dollar. Some of the collector tractors may do very well, but combines and such will probably suffer. Again, you never know.

You will be amazed at what the advertising alone costs if it is done correctly. And then figure in the auctioneers cut, and all the hassle with the sale itself, plus getting everything out of where the auction is. It's a pain in the rear, but certainly can be done. Then the taxes...!

I would suggest, as some below have said, to keep your 25 acres and grow hay. I rented my ground, but kept some for some hay. I use it myself, but still have plenty to sell.

As far as the mid week auction, I have been to some and have NEVER noticed the crowd size to be small. Nor have I ever noticed everything to be "given away" during a week day auction. However, times are not great for an auction at this time regardless of the day. However, good luck with what ever you decide. Bob
 
Saturday auctions only get to be a problem in March when every auctioneer is lining up his calendar. I've heard the same thing as you as far as auctioneers preferring not to do business on Saturday. The answer that I get quite a bit of the time is quite a few people work weekends and it is often easier to get an employer to flex one weekday off for another. The other is if a last minute prospect walks in a hour or two ahead of when the sale starts and needs financing they can call somebody M-F whereas nobody is on duty Saturday morning at the bank. I don't agree as far as consignment auctions go. Way back in the day you might get a "junk" drag on a good piece when advertising far and wide was a problem. Today I see tractors randomly arranged at a consignment and each piece will bring what it is worth. There can be a 100 dollar forage blower next to a 12,000 dollar 4020 side console diesel and each piece will bring what it is worth. On some pieces the seller has to recognize a change in the market relative to his piece. There was a NH forage wagon that was well traveled during last year's auction cycle and no doubt the seller was dissatisfied with the bids but the thing was well worn so it was no surprise that it did not break the 1,000 dollar mark each and every time.
 
Hard decision. I do know that I made some money farming small time but only because i happened in at the right time. I missed time with my girls, 9, 11, 13 working hours late at night working ground or shelling corn. I also know that the money I put into equipment would be giving me better cash flow now if I had bought another rental or two. But I love to farm. It?s tough. Kids are only little once.
 
Somethings have an absolute value such as a JD 7000 planter where condition is most important as far as setting price. Somethings such as the 4400 combine will only bring a limited amount of money regardless of the selling method. As others have said if considering an auctioneer then attend the sale of any prospect to see if you think he is honest, has a good following, and works to get the seller a good price. Pennies on the dollar point to other problems besides the auctioneer. Tractorhouse will give reasonable assessments on auction values when checking auction prices for a given piece. If a seller does a little homework that should reduce the number of surprises on value. Don't wait for the cards to fall on the auction day to know what your take might be.
 
I'm about your size with a 3yr old and a full time job. I started burning all my vacation to get my hay and other custom jobs in the area done. Didn't bug me even a little until my son was born. Row crops haven't been as big of a deal. Can do those at night and not quite as time sensitive. Now that he's a little older and interested in the world, it has started to chew at me a little bit. Going anywhere for any amount of time(a day or 2) from may to Nov was next to impossible. 2 yrs ago I told the people that I was doing hay for I was done. This fall I plowed up more hay ground for corn in the spring. Down to 15 acres of hay, which is enough to feed our few critters. It's like someone has lifted a ton of weight off my shoulders. I know I'll still be busy during planting/wheat/fall, but at least it's not all the time and I can make time for him while not getting out of it. Saying that, I have the farming bug bad. Have since my grandpa sold out in the 80's when I was 5 or 6. Worked on farms from middle school on to a few years after I graduated, and chomped at the bit the few years I didn't dabble in it one way or another. I couldn't see myself giving this up unless forced to one way or another. If you don't have that drive where you really like doing it, there's no sense in it. Not doing it for the money that's for sure. Just don't make a hasty decision because of one bad year. I've had times where I've kind of looked in the mirror and wondered why I do this stuff, but it goes away quickly for myself. Don't force yourself to do it if you hate it though. You only live once.

On the auction side of things, I wouldn't be at your sale and that stuff is right in my wheelhouse. Older and affordable yet reliable. It's what a lot of us small time part timers use. I'd be at work mid day on a Thursday. The ones that bring the most around here are online or online prebidding/live combo. Seems to get way more involved.
 
Same here. There are 2 companys that do online or online and live bidding and they bring the most out of anyone in the area. Online lasts 20-30 days.
 
A good auctioneer will piles of stuf that most think are trash that should be put in the dumpster before sale will just ask is anybody interested in anything out of that pile, if no he will just move on and you can put the stuff in dumpster later, if yes he will have you pick out what you are interested in and sell it. Many a time several people will have a single item spoted in the pile they want but if having to bid on complete pile they will not because of thinking they have to take everything they do not want. And at times something in junk pile will bring the most of any items in auction. Anouther thing is ligning things up in a proper manor. Do not put like wheel weights for a tractor in line where they get sold before the tractor they fit. Anouther is a plow that matches the tractor, sell tractor first so buyer can then buy the matching piece. He will not bid on the matching piece if he does not know if he is going to get the main piece. Years ago Dad and I were at auction to buy tractor and plow and plow was first in line and dad asked auctioneer to bove to tractor first and auctioneer was going to do that but just as he started to do that helper took a bid on plow so he had to continue on plow. After Dad got tractor auctioneer said to Dad I bet you would have given a lot more for that plow than it sold for. So putting in a correct line will not only help buyer but also seller. I don't like reserve either but at times only way it can be done say if tractor has a loan against it the lender will only agree to let go if meets what is owned on it. And you usually can tell a good auctioneer by the way sale bids are written.
 
(quoted from post at 14:03:00 01/16/18)
(quoted from post at 09:24:01 01/16/18) The auctioneer is supposed to be working for you. A week day auction sounds like he's not giving your auction his full attention.

At least one auctioneer in this area absolutely will NOT hold an auction on a Saturday. Even for 100% commission.

Firmly believes that Saturday is the worst day to hold an auction. Why? I can only speculate. Maybe because all the other auctioneers are having their auctions on Saturday and that cuts into the potential crowd? Again I can only speculate.

There really hasn't been a good quality equipment auction in the area in a while. Prices are generally low, but then most of the equipment has been rode hard, put away wet, then rode hard again.

Whoever suggested a consignment sale should have his head examined. At least around here, consignment sales are for JUNK, and everything brings JUNK price, even if it looks good (figure lipstick on a pig). If you want a good price, have a dedicated auction of your own, whether it's live or online. You'll do far better than any JUNK auction.

Hey Barnyard,

I just got back from having my head examined, and I stand by my comment. I've been to a regular consignment auction in Dodgeville and another one in Strawberry Point and both somewhat regularly have on-site sellout sales.

They'll stop the other truck spend a couple minutes talking about the seller and spend a lil more time selling the equipment. If the seller is inclined, he'll say a few words or answer questions. The items generally do quite a bit better than the other junk that frequents the sale. Seller doesn't have to worry about a small crowd, potential thieves, parking, watching their stuff being cut up by the scrapper in their front yard, loading, etc. I really like a good on-farm auction, but sometimes taking it to a consignment lot is preferable.

But I also stand by my other comment. If it were me, I'd do the online auction with a local auctioneer.
 
And you would have people seeing on line only and they would STOP READING looking no farther.
 
(quoted from post at 09:28:30 01/19/18) And you would have people seeing on line only and they would STOP READING looking no farther.

Based on the amount of equipment sold every week on online only auctions, the people who stop reading are greatly in the minority.
 

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