South Dakota farmers on buying binge – Ag equipment sales fueled by economy, pent-up demand and new technology

From 2005 to 2013, South Dakota’s estimated tax receipts from farm equipment sales exploded from $12 million to more than $41 million, a bonanza for state coffers and tractor dealers alike.

The boom has many causes, chief among them a strong ag economy scarcely affected by the 2007 recession.

"During the recession, if we didn’t have the type of performance we had in the ag economy, it would have been even more difficult than it was in terms of the impact on the state budget," said Jim Terwilliger, the state economist at the Bureau of Finance and Management.

Written by
David Montgomery

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