Machinery Pete Advice to Young Farmers + News of New Auction Company – Merit Auctions

02/21/23 • 146 min

Machinery Pete looks back over his 33+ year career and pulls together his best tips and advice to young farmers. Pete also talks with Zach Hiner, Jim Huff and John Probasco with the new auction firm Merit Auctions of Fort Madison, IA. Hiner, Huff and Probasco have over 100 years experience in the auction biz. They already have 10 auctions on the books, including a huge Feb. 28, 2023 online sale for Ag Pro, a large John Deere dealer in Ohio, Georgia and the southeast U.S.

[:40] - Machinery Pete’s intro, episode topics
[3:20] - Equipment market update
[6:23] - Recent auction recaps
[11:55] - Advice for young farmers: theory of opposites, eye contact
[29:44] - Buying opportunity in tough market, Rule of 12
[38:25] - Interview with Zach, Jim and John begins
[42:53] - Upcoming sale closing Feb. 28
[51:33] - Market advice from the Zach, Jim and John
[1:06] - Final words from Machinery Pete

Machinery Pete was founded in 1989 and has grown from its humble beginnings to a full-fledged marketplace for farming equipment. Greg Peterson, founder and host, has also released Machinery Pete content across platforms including YouTube with his long-running Machinery Pete TV show.

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[:40] - Machinery Pete’s intro, episode topics
[3:20] - Equipment market update
[6:23] - Recent auction recaps
[11:55] - Advice for young farmers: theory of opposites, eye contact
[29:44] - Buying opportunity in tough market, Rule of 12
[38:25] - Interview with Zach, Jim and John begins
[42:53] - Upcoming sale closing Feb. 28
[51:33] - Market advice from the Zach, Jim and John
[1:06] - Final words from Machinery Pete

Previous Episode

North Prairie Butchery in Faulkton, SD – The Dream Becoming Reality

The story of North Prairie Butchery in Faulkton, SD, the dream project coming into reality of Troy Hadrick, a 5th generation cattle rancher in northeast South Dakota. Hadrick recently received a $2.2M grant from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to build a 25/day head beef/pork/bison processing facility in Faulkton, SD to help expand our country’s pinched meat and poultry processing capacity and increase diversity in our nation’s food supply chain. Momentum is building quickly for the needed project.

[:35] - Machinery Pete’s intro, teeing up today’s interview
[3:42] - Interview with Troy begins
[4:23] - Troy’s project overview, expanding on his ranching business
[12:45] - Project timeline from construction to production
[17:23] - Faulkton, SD - a forward thinking community
[20:19] - Creating jobs, retail impact, customer feedback
[29:30] - Grant award process
[34:12] - Troy’s insight on the bison market
[36:06] - Final words from Machinery Pete

Next Episode

Jess Settles – Winfield, IA Farmer and College Basketball Legend

With March Madness coming to a head with the NCAA Final Four this week, Machinery Pete talks with Jess Settles – farmer from Winfield, IA and Iowa Hawkeye basketball legend, also TV college basketball analyst on ESPN, Big Ten Network and Fox Sports. Settles talks about growing up on the farm in Winfield, IA, his family’s deep farming roots, his basketball journey that carried him to the University of Iowa and star status in the mid 1990’s. After his playing days ended, Settles transitioned to TV work. Farming and basketball stories and memories flow in this Pete and Jess conversation.

[:35] - Machinery Pete’s intro, equipment market update
[5:33] - Interview with Jess Settles begins
[8:10] - Jess’s early Iowa days, growing up on the farm
[16:26] - Graduation from high school, college basketball career
[25:40] - Battling injuries
[32:02] - Post career days; coaching and TV
[40:18] - Modern basketball
[50:13] - New strategies in farming and basketball
[1:01:30] - Final words from Machinery Pete