DESPITE seemingly gale force winds, quality machinery at the C Tricoli & Co clearing sale at Westonia last Thursday, attracted resolute bidders.
With the odd hat lost to the wind and swirling loose sand, bids were brisk, providing a busy and watchful time for Primaries Muchea auctioneer Jay Macdonald.
He knocked down the top item, a 2005 Mack Vision truck (199,885km) with an 18-speed Road Ranger transmission and fitted with a 9.6 metre (31.5 foot) Baileys tri-axle tipper, for $102,000.
The highest-priced piece of farm equipment was a Buhler Versatile 2360 4WD tractor (3104 hours) with a 269kW (360hp) engine which went for $86,000.
A collection of tractors were offered, including a New Holland Genesis FWA model (4632hrs) with a 142kW (190hp) engine and fitted with a Rinex controller, similar to the one in the Versatile.
Two Massey Ferguson tractors attracted attention with the 2230 FWA with air-con cab making $19,000 while a 188 model with ROPS frame, re-conditioned in 2010, sold for $9600.
A Chamberlain 4080 loader with a Arjeff FEL made $7000; an articulated Hough 100 Payloader sold for $5000 and a 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser diesel (314,000km) made $12,100.
Grain handling equipment got off to a good start with a 25 tonne Finch chaser bin selling for $40,000, while two 27t Brereton bins made $5200 and $4200 respectively and a 20t Klimax fetched $1000.
The vendor’s sale philosophy seemed to be to “meet the market”, with the auctioneer’s call, “it’s on the market”, generally resulting in a renewed bidding flurry and a sale.
A 14m (46ft) Buhler Farm King belt-drive auger with hydro-drive wheels, opened bidding at $5000, then the auctioneer took the price up in $200 bids until it sold for $11,800.
A Case International 2166 header tractor (4745hrs) and a 9m (30ft) 1040 MacDon front on trailer, sold for $20,000 and an eight wheel Mack MBR600 truck with a 7.3m (24ft) tray and 7.3m (24ft) Bright hydraulic seed/super bin made $25,000.
A seeding rig that included a 12m (40ft) Flexi-Coil bar, a1720 Flexi-Coil dual air tank, and a 3800L Flexi-Coil 65 converted liquid cart, sold as a complete unit for $23,000.
A 28m (92.5ft) Goldacres boomsprayer with 6000L tank and dual lines made $32,600 and a 9.8m (32ft) tandem trailer with two 10,000L fibreglass water tanks sold for $15,000.
A 39 tine JD chisel plough sold for $5400; a Schulte rock picker sold for $10,000 and a tractor-drawn grader with 3m (10ft) blade sold for $10,000.
The latter was a clever home-made unit that started life as an ordinary SP grader.
There were plenty of sundries to choose from, including a TCM Forklift ($3000), Pizey Rockmaster post hole digger ($1100), Yamaha Kodiak quad bike ($2500), and a circular saw on a trailer with 9.5kW (13hp) electric-start diesel motor that sold for $2800.
Other items to sell included a large Lincoln welder with motor on a trailer ($2000); a TPL/hydraulic log splitter ($1100); a 4500L diesel tank on trailer ($3500) and a large air compressor on a trailer that had been a Land Rover ($3000).