According to the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), sales of under 40-horsepower tractors jumped 23% in October compared to 1 year ago and are up 8.1% for the year-to-date.

AEM Senior Vice President Charlie O'Brien noted that many of these tractors are going into small-acre farms and the livestock sector, where economic conditions have been more favorable compared to row crop operations.

Meanwhile, sales in the two-wheel drive 100-horsepower and above category dropped 29.5% for the month when compared to October of last year, resulting in an overall reduction of 23% year-to-date.

Four-wheel drive tractors were likewise down 22.9% for the month, bringing the year-to-date decline to 42%.

Combines also continued to show a dramatic reduction from last year, down almost 20%. This is the same percentage drop in sales as last month, resulting in a year to date drop of 35%.

View a video for more statistics from the complete report.