Stags Auctioneers recently conducted their regular south west online timed auction of tractors, vehicles and machinery, with the continued momentum of the sales showing no sign of letting up.

Some of the momentum has been credited to the difficult Covid-19 situation.

Harvey Pile, who leads the online sales said: “Although the current situation has definitely increased the number of buyers and sellers using the online method, I think it’s a natural evolution for the rural community to embrace the benefits of both buying and selling through this route and in my eyes the auctions will becoming increasingly common in the years to come.

"We have over 4,500 registered bidders using the Stags auction site and the most recent sale saw the south west’s farmers benefit from their items being exposed to over 20,000 people nationally with buyers being successful from Cumbria, Ireland, Wales, Birmingham, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and Hampshire along with our local counties.”

The top price achieved saw North Devon based Alan Dart Groundworks Ltd sell a well-presented John Deere 6420S 4wd tractor and loader for £26,501 despite 9,000 hours on the clock.

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National based buyers drove the prices upwards for a Witheridge based farmer who saw his two tractors, a 1994 Massey Ferguson 362 2wd tractor and loader and a 1995 Case 4210 4wd tractor & loader achieve nearly double the value he had hoped to achieve.

The 1994 Massey Ferguson, purchased by a farmer from Bristol, Avon stormed to an impressive price of £14,600 while the 1995 Case 4210 was purchased by a farmer from Penrith, Cumbria for £11,000. Combines, gators, ATV’s and trucks were also sold on behalf of south west farmers, with the Deutz Fahr Top-Liner 4065 HTS Combine selling for £9,000 and the John Deere 855D XUV 4wd Gator reaching £8,000, both purchased by bidders based in the county of Avon. The 2016 Suzuki King Quad 500AXi also sold well achieving £4,150 for its owner, while the 2011 Nissan Navara Tekna 2.5TDI sold pleasingly for £7,500.

Beyond the wide range of tractors and vehicles on offer farm machinery also met a strong demand, with prices including a West 2000 FYM Spreader swapping Mid-Devon for Dorset at a cost of £6,000, a New Holland DuraDisc mower at £4,500 and a Marshall 10T grain trailer which didn’t receive a single viewing at £4,500.

Stags’ next online timed auction is scheduled to be held on November 12, with a large dispersal of agricultural and horticultural equipment scheduled to go under the virtual hammer in late October.