U.S. sales of combines dropped 43.7%, 4 wheel drive tractors sales fell 40.2% while overall agricultural tractor sales fell by 4.9% in July 2025 compared with July 2024, according to numbers from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).On year to date basis all farm tractor sales are down 9.9%.
Farm machinery giant Deere warned this past week that tariff costs for the company could reach a total of $600 million for the fiscal 2025 year.
Deere’s director of investor relations, John Beal, said“Tariff costs in the quarter were approximately $200 million, which brings us to roughly $300 million in tariff expense year to date based on tariff rates in effect as of today,” Beal said. “Our forecast for the pretax impact of tariffs in fiscal 2025 is now adjusted to nearly $600 million.”
Farm machinery sales are considered a barometer of the US ag economy as the nation’s biggest crops are at bumper volume with lower prices this year.
Here are five-year price charts for corn, milk and soybeans
Here are a few other ag business briefs.
-Consumers are paying more for a staple food – ground beef. The average prices for ground beef rose to new record highs in July, reaching $6.25 per pound for 100% ground beef and just over $8 per pound for lean and extra lean ground beef, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cattlemen are paying more for feed and fuel, as well as a scarcity of cattle for processing relative to demand, particularly in the Western U.S., according to local reports. In addition, consumer demand for meat overall is rising as more consumers adopt high-protein diets.
-CA Milk Production up 3.8 Percent USDA reports that milk production in the 24 major States during July totaled 18.8 billion pounds, up 3.5 percent from July 2024..California milk production was up 3.8% as both cow numbers and milk per cow were each higher than a year ago.
–Milk Producers Council says dairy producers continued to hold onto as many cows as possible, allowing for expansion despite the heifer shortage. The dairy herd reached 9.485 million headlast month, up159,000 from July 2024 and the highest head count since May 2021. The year-over-year increase is large enough for producers to send an additional 900 head to slaughter each week and maintain an annual cull rate below30%, on par with the 2024 rate that fostered rapid expansion.