The cattle industry crisis has reduced the amount of cash farmers have to spend on equipment but the prairie machinery industry still is having its best year in awhile.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the sales numbers for combines and large tractors,” said John Schmeiser, senior executive vice-president of the Calgary-based Canada West Equipment Dealers Association.
“BSE has had an influence but thankfully, we were blessed with more moisture last spring, which gave farmers a bit more optimism and got them thinking of replacing some equipment that needed replacing.”
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According to figures compiled by the Canadian Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute based in Burlington, Ont., combine sales to the end of September were 947, more than 200 units and 34 percent ahead of last year’s totals.
Dealers sold more than 500 four-wheel drive tractors, 20 percent more than last year, and sales of larger two-wheel drives were up more than eight percent.
“Most of those sales would be in Western Canada,” said CFIEI president Brent Hamre.
“Given what has been happening out there, the numbers are a bit surprising, pleasantly surprising.”
Western Canadian farmers have been hurt by a near shutdown of the cattle industry since May because of the discovery of one case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Alberta and a sharp downturn in grain and oilseed prices after what started out as a spring of optimism with good soil moisture and strong prices after three years of drought.
“Thank God for that spring moisture,” said Schmeiser. “In this industry, we are totally dependent on farmers being optimistic enough to buy. We are totally dependent on farmers having a crop in the field.”
