HAVING recently received a 3000 hour service, an eye-catching 2016 New Holland T9.450 tractor - with 3218 hours on the engine and 2201 hours on the driveline - generated the highest price at the WR Taylor & Sons clearing sale at Cunderdin last week.
Elders auctioneer and livestock agent Jay Macdonald led the two and a half hour auction that spanned 156 lots on a blindingly bright 35-degree day that was thankfully interrupted by bursts of overcast conditions and a light breeze.
The sale had a delayed start due to some minor technical issues before order was restored.
"Pen and paper, still works," Mr MacDonald said.
When it came to the big ticket items, he opened bidding on the New Holland T9.450 tractor on lot 146 at $150,000.
Two bidders volleyed back and forth for a couple of minutes until Corey Leeson, Meckering, representing DP Leeson & Co, secured the tractor by calling in the affirmative for the final offer at $302,500.
On the last lot, a 2020 International Prostar truck with 21,000km and a 105 tonne rating, also began at $150,000, however, the bidders did not bite and the price fell precipitously.
"I'll try at $120,000 and I don't think I can go much below that," Mr Macdonald said to a muted group.
An undisclosed bidder offered up $100,000 and Mr MacDonald quipped, "I'll go with you, mate, you've been with me all day".
The price was quickly pushed upwards from there and the truck was secured for $187,000 by RE Burges & Son.
The third biggest item was the New Holland tin front purchased by Carlton Springs for $136,400.
The fourth biggest purchase was a 2020 Bruce Rock grain tipper snapped up by OROTEK at $85,000.
Further along, a 2003 Nissan trayback farm ute, which clocked 231,600km, began at $5000 and generated surprisingly intense competition between two bidders until one of them snapped it up for $13,750.
A few of the vehicles on the lots dated back much further than 2003, but not as much as a Chamberlain Countryman 6 tractor from 1963, starting at $2500.
It attracted mild interest until it was snapped up for $4400 by JD Phillipson.
On the newer end, a Yamaha 350 Grizzly four wheel motorbike with Silvan sprayer was sold for $2090.
A 2011 Miller Nitro 4365 was opened up to $40,000 and dropped all the way to $15,000 before being sold for $36,000 to Kyarran Farming.
Looking at some of the other bits of machinery, a 2016 Agrowplow AP71, fitted with 6m Holfreter rubber tyre rollers, started at $40,000 but fell away before it returned to that price and was secured by Dempster Farms.
"It was a good turn out," Mr Macdonald told Farm Weekly post auction.
"The gear presented really well, it was well looked after, and the sale went really well."
Mr Macdonald said some things had sold for a little bit less than expected, "but some had sold for nearly double than what we thought we were going to get in some instances".
He said the biggest surprises were from a few offset ploughs that didn't move the needle.
"The New Holland T9 was one that was a bit above expectations," Mr MacDonald said.
Paul Gatti, a retired farmer and friend of property owner David Taylor, was there on the day on behalf of his son, a enthusiastic vintage machinery collector.
"I go around looking for bits and pieces for him," Mr Gatti said.
"He's a sharebroker in Perth, so he gets me to get him some stuff."
As a hobby farmer, Mr Gatti shared his perspective on attending and making bids at clearance sales.
"The other day at Mt Walker, there was an International tractor there that went for $1000 - it was a front-end loader and no one bid for it," he said.
"Then I put my hand up and it went to $2500 pretty quick and then I thought, 'Nah, I don't really want it', you know, it's an extra thousand just to cart it down south."
