THE local hotels were booked out for the agricultural auction of the year, but it was the overseas bidders who brought it home.
Smashing the previous Australian record for an unreserved public agricultural auction, the event at “Keytah” Moree came in at over $9 million.
Auctioneering firm, Ritchie Brothers' regional sales manager, Dale Spedding said he was “ecstatic” with the result.
“The auction exceeded all of our expectations.”
“We thought the final figure would be about eight million, but ended up being about a million higher.
“A key factor was the level of interest in the auction online,” he said.
Buyers from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and New Zealand made up the 380 registered bidders on-site last weekend. The real surprise was the online interest, said Mr Spedding.
“Even though there were about 1200 people on site, this auction was the first time Ritchie Bros. had ever registered more bidders online than in person,” he said.
Of the 387 bidders registered on line, about half were based overseas. Mr Spedding said the dollar exchange rate boosted bidding from both the US and New Zealand. He said there was also major interest from Canadian farmers.
“A big draw for bidders was the fact that this was an unreserved public auction. They knew that if they made the highest bid the lot was theirs and that’s very appealing to buyers.”.
Ritchie Bros., agricultural specialist, Brandon Murray said the town was ideally situated to bring together sellers and bidders from across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
“Moree is a great hub because it’s in the middle of the eastern seaboard and in the heart of a cotton-growing region where farms use a lot of equipment,” he said.
Planning for the latest auction began when owners Sundown Pastoral decided to renew the entire inventory of John Deere tractors, headers and planting equipment at “Keytah”.
Mr Murray said Ritchie Bros. decided to add more stock to the already large sale.
“Last year cotton was pretty strong and it looks like backing that up again this year, so people are looking to turn over their equipment,” Mr Murray said.
“At the same time, there’s strong demand for John Deere 8R tractors and a six-to-seven- month waiting time for new models,” he said.
Key auction highlights:
- Lot # 100-102 – 3 x 2015 JOHN DEERE 8370RT Track Tractor sold $252,500 + GST each
- Lot # 76 - 2016 JOHN DEERE 8320R MFWD Tractor sold $247,500 + GST
- Lot # 74 - 2007 CATERPILLAR 143H VHP Plus Motor Grader sold $200,000 + GST
- Lot # 80 - 2013 JOHN DEERE 8310R MFWD Tractor sold $172,500 + GST
- Lot # 99 - 1988 STEIGER TIGER KP525 Series IV 4WD Tractor sold $140,000 + GST
- Lot # 90 - 2011 CASE IH 340 MAGNUM MFWD Tractor sold $100,000 + GST
- Lot # 131 - 2014 JOHN DEERE 1720 MAXEMERGER 16 Row 12 m Planter sold $95,000 + GST
- Lot # 118 - 2012 JOHN DEERE 640D 40ft Draper Header sold $65,000 + GST
- Lot # 94 - 2008 JOHN DEERE 6130 MFWD Tractor sold $54,000 + GST
- Lot # 122 - 2010 MACDON (NH) 45 Ft Draper Header sold $50,000 + GST