Latest news with #GregPeterson
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Evan Ramstad: Think cars and trucks have gotten expensive? Take a look at tractors
America has moved on from the pandemic, but the industries that produce its vehicles haven't. Car and light truck sales rose 2.5% through June, and 2025 could wind up the best year in volume since before the pandemic. But that volatile era changed the industry and its consumers, and unit sales this year will still be around 1 million fewer than the nearly 17 million vehicles sold in 2019. Another vehicle industry common to many Minnesotans has seen even more drama over the past half decade: farm tractors. Many of the same influences are at play, including tariffs and interest rates. But the business cycle of the farm equipment industry is shaped by swings in farm income, which in turn is shaped by the uncontrollable force of weather. Farm income grew from 2016 through 2022, even in the pandemic. But it fell both of the last two years, leading to an abrupt plunge in demand for tractors and other equipment. It's a fresh distortion to a business that Greg Peterson of Rochester, founder of the Machinery Pete website, has been tracking for 35 years. And all of these changes ultimately have an effect on the prices consumers pay for food. "If you talk to any farmer, you know the price of new equipment has continually risen," Peterson said. "Through the pandemic, with the supply chain mess, those price increases were astronomical." List prices for tractors rose 50% to 60% from 2017 to 2023, according to the University of Illinois Extension. The price of new cars and trucks rose 22% over that period, as measured in the Consumer Price Index. Keep in mind that a common field tractor can cost around $500,000, 10 times more than the average sales price of a car or light truck. So larger proportional increases are hitting vehicles that already had large price tags. Then came 2024. "The market turn and slowdown last year was the most aggressive I've ever seen," Peterson said. Equipment makers scaled back output. Revenue at John Deere, the nation's leading maker of tractors and other farm equipment, was down 22% in the six months ended April 27. Peterson's website over the last 18 months chronicled other effects. Suddenly, competition grew between dealers selling new equipment and farmers selling used equipment because dealers found themselves sitting on a lot of inventory. Some turned to auctions to sell new machines. This spring, Peterson warned his audience that the spike in supply could turn just as quickly. "I started gently saying, 'You've got to be careful assuming there will be great used [tractor] deals for as long as there were in the past,'" Peterson said. "The space is different now. It's faster. It's clearing out quicker." Just as automobile manufacturers learned during the pandemic, farm equipment makers found it's better to maintain price control by cutting back production. "The manufacturers pinch off production because they're not selling much new now, for understandable reasons," Peterson said. "Whenever corn and beans go up, then you're going to have farmers who have been holding back say, 'Oh, I've gotta go get that planter.' Now it's going to take the manufacturer a bit to ramp back up. And their pricing power is just tremendous." Peterson started regularly publishing the results of farm equipment auctions nationwide with magazine-like printed reports in 1989. In the early 1990s, he distributed the data on floppy disks. In the early 2000s, he started the Machinery Pete website. Today it's a national exchange for farm equipment, and Peterson supplements the buying and selling data with his own on-site reporting, which is also distributed on the RFD-TV cable network and a YouTube channel. He visits farmers all around the country, collecting their stories before and after sales. Last summer, that included my cousins as they retired from six decades of farming in northwest Minnesota. Peterson and I didn't know about the connection until after we met last fall. Peterson said the pandemic created the biggest change he's seen in the farm equipment trade by nationalizing the market. Online selling had been around for nearly 30 years by then, but farmers tended to buy and sell their machines regionally. "The thinking was, 'We're here and they're there,'" Peterson said. "That just got eviscerated in March 2020. So now, the trick if you're an auction company or farm equipment dealer, no matter where you are, is realizing that your buying pool has no edges. Your trick is to pull in the buyer in Texas or Tennessee or Utah or anywhere." Peterson is always looking out for price records and unusual developments at auctions. Two months ago, he learned a farmer in Hendricks, Minn., sold a 13-year-old, 504-horsepower (that's very large) John Deere tractor for $291,000, a record for its age. The reason: The tractor had been used for less than 200 hours. "In this case, the guy was 83 and he bought this stuff and then slowed down and retired," Peterson said. "If you get to that 10-year-plus age and you have a low-hour unit like that, it's like this neon beacon. You've got a tractor that will cost $600,000 or $700,000 new, and here's a barely used one with a $200,000 price on it." --- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Grand Chute Police Chief Greg Peterson will retire after more than 44 years in law enforcement
GRAND CHUTE — Police Chief Greg Peterson will retire later this year after 15 years as chief and more than 44 years in law enforcement. The Police and Fire Commission will begin the recruitment process for a new police chief and expects to announce a successor by late summer or early fall. Peterson will remain in his role until the selection process is done. Peterson has served as police chief since 2010. "My tenure as chief has been the pinnacle of a career that has spanned more than 44 years, and my decision to leave the position has been extremely difficult to make," Peterson said, adding that it has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Grand Chute Police Department. Peterson's law enforcement career began in 1980, when he joined the Appleton Police Department as a patrol officer. He had a 29½-year career with Appleton, including 20 months as the interim Grand Chute police chief when the two communities explored the feasibility of merging their police departments. The merger didn't happen, but Peterson said the experience inspired him to apply for Grand Chute police chief in 2010. Under Peterson's leadership, the police department added its first police dog unit in 2011 and its second one in 2019. The department was accredited by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group in 2014 and has maintained that status ever since. In addition, the department has introduced its Community Hotel Intervention Program, a public health vending machine and overdose action kits to combat the fentanyl crisis, an automated license plate recognition system, and a drone-as-a-first-responder program. Tom Dreier, secretary of the Police and Fire Commission, said Peterson has worked tirelessly to advance the development of the police department. "His servant leadership and expertise extends to the overall effectiveness of the department," Dreier said. "The Town of Grand Chute is a better, safer community due to Chief Greg Peterson and the entire Police Department." Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@ Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DukeBehnke. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Grand Chute Police Chief Greg Peterson will retire later this year
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘The pinnacle of a career': Grand Chute Police Chief retires after 44 years of service, 15 spent with department
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – An extraordinary and long career is coming to an end for Grand Chute Police Chief Greg Peterson, who officially announced his retirement in a release on Wednesday. Chief Peterson started his career in policing in 1980, starting as a patrol officer with the Appleton Police Department, and served in multiple ways for 29.5 years with Appleton. This included a 20-month term as interim chief for Grand Chute amidst potential mergers between the two cities' police forces. Winnebago County discusses future of UWO Fox Cities campus In the release, Chief Peterson said that time revealed he had faith in the 'Grand Chute Police Department's potential to become a model organization,' leading him to apply for the permanent spot, which he earned and became appointed to on April 21, 2010. Under Chief Peterson's guidance, the Grand Chute Police Department came a long way, adding its first K-9 unit in 2011 and second in 2019. The department was accredited by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group and has continued in that honor since. Chief Peteron's tenure also saw the launch of a career development program, providing unique chances to attain higher degrees and offering coaching and employee wellness programs along with the opportunity to attend leadership conferences. The Grand Chute Police Department has also introduced initiatives that have helped fight crime in the area and attack the fentanyl crisis head-on with Overdose Action Kits. In addition, the department added an automated license plate recognition system and a drone-as-a-first responder program. In the release, Dave Tiedt, who served on the Police and Fire Commission in Grand Chute since 1996, credited Chief Peterson's leadership and experience with helping make the Grand Chute Police Department one of the state's finest. 'His professional experience and management abilities have advanced the police department into one of Wisconsin's best,' Tiedt said via the release. He expressed great pleasure in serving in his role, calling it the best of his career while reflecting on the difficult decision to step away. 'My tenure as chief has been the pinnacle of a career that has spanned more than 44 years,' Chief Peterson said via the release. 'My decision to leave the position has been extremely difficult to make.' Peterson credited his and the Grand Chute Police Department's success over his tenure to the people on the force, expressing the force's ability to consistently work towards excellent service and mindset of protecting the people of Grand Chute. 'Without a doubt, the successes we have experienced over the past 15 years can be attributed to these remarkable individuals and the culture of excellence they have created,' Chief Peterson said in the release. Green Bay Metro Fire Department unveils Spring Recruitment Class of 2025, 11 new firefighters Chief Peterson will remain in his role until a selection process for the new chief is completed, expected by late summer or early this fall, as recruitment procedures begin. He finished off by expressing gratitude for the time he's spent. 'It has truly been an honor and privilege to be a part of this team,' Chief Peterson said via the release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
