ORLANDO, Fla. – Farm equipment dealers are expecting a good year in 2010.
A recent poll of dealers in Canada and the United States by the American publication Farm Equipment found the mood upbeat.
“The Canadians were more bullish than the Americans, but overall I was surprised at the optimism,” Farm Equipment editor Dave Koniki said Jan. 12 during the Ag Connect Expo in Orlando.
Slightly more than half of farm equipment dealers who derive the majority of their income from production agriculture said 2010 will be similar to 2009, which was considered a good year by most.
Eight percent said they expected to see increased sales.
Combine sales are expected to be stronger than in 2009, while large tractors will be slightly ahead of 2009.
If this comes to pass, it will buck the trend of declining sales seen during the past two years.
Douglas DeVries of John Deere told international agricultural equipment manufacturers attending the Agrievolution conference in Orlando Jan. 11 that they could expect to see extreme volatility in sales over the next few years because of economic forces that affect consumption and credit.
