OMAHA (DTN) -- Back in September, I wrote a column from a photo of a vintage tractor my retired boss, Urban Lehner, sent me. It was a photo of an International 140 tractor from an Oregon sunflower farm.

I asked at the end of the column that if you see any interesting vintage iron in your normal routines or travels, please send me a photo and I will run it in a future column.

One person took me up on the offer. That was Glen Smith from Winnsboro, Louisiana, who sent me a photo of his 1948 Farmall C. What a sharp-looking machine!

Glen included in the email that his father purchased the tractor in 1948, and it has been in their family ever since.

"Still running and a lifetime of memories," he said.

I thank Glen for taking the time to send me an email and for also sharing some of his family tractor's story.

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Last month in this space, we discussed an upcoming online vintage farm equipment auction that was set to happen in early November. The collection was owned by Jon and Marica Kinzenbaw of Williamsburg, Iowa.

Jon, of course, is the founder of Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. The couple offered 150 tractors from their massive collection, and there was considerable buzz before the sale because.

At the top of the list was a 1972 John Deere 4020 tractor. This machine featured a mechanical front end and extra-large tires. Essentially, it was a monster truck tractor.

I never saw an official listing of what the tractors sold for, but I did see some discussion on X (formerly Twitter).

One source (American Farmland Owner) reported that the two tractors that brought the most at the auction were the 4020 with the large tires, as well as a 1969 Massey Ferguson 1130. They both brought $50,250. I don't know enough about Massey Fergusons to know why that tractor brought that kind of money.

Other high-priced tractors included a 1970 John Deere 4020 ($36,000), a 1973 John Deere 4430 ($34,750) and a 1975 International 1566 ($32,751). I never saw what the rest of the tractors brought.

I remember reading someone's post on X, they bought a tractor at this auction. Someone else asked if they had to pay a lot for their purchase, and they said they had bought at a lower price than the price some of the more expensive tractors brought.

From reading through the list of tractors, there were some more common tractors. There were several Farmall F-series, Hs and Ms, all of which looked to be in good condition. There were some Allis Chambers, Fords and Massey Fergusons.

There were also some two-cylinder John Deere tractors on the auction, including a 1937 John Deere D. That one caught my eye, as we have my grandpa's 1935 John Deere D. These tractors looked to be very similar, as both were restored.

I have read in recent years some farm machinery experts believe the value of older vintage tractors (from the 1950s backward) is decreasing in value, while newer vintage machines (the 1960s forward) are the ones that are seeing their values increase.

It is kind of a sobering reason why this is the case, though.

Baby Boomers who were raised on farms with tractors like the Farmall H/M and John Deere A/B are now passing away, thus limiting the demand for these tractors. Demand is greater for these newer machines and comes from the next generation (Generation X), as they were raised on the muscle tractors of the 1960s through the 1980s.

I am certainly part of this generation that was raised on these types of tractors. I have seen the demand for these newer vintage tractors increase.

Almost exactly a year ago, my uncle's estate had an online farm equipment auction. Because of a lack of planning, my dad and uncle's 1962 John Deere 4010 tractor was on the auction, even though my dad owned half of it. I wrote a column about the situation (https://www.dtnpf.com/…).

The tractor had been in our family for 50 years, and I attempted to keep it there, but the demand must be very high for this kind of tractor. I ran the tractor up to $14,000, but finally had to give up.

Someone else in central Iowa now owns our 4010.

I mourned it for a few days, as this was the first tractor I learned to drive. But then my wife pointed out if someone was willing to spend THAT much money for an old 4010, at least they will take good care of it. That did make me feel a little better, but it should still be in our family.

It is kind of sad the demand for older vintage tractors is waning. Hopefully, some from the next generation will step in and buy their father's tractors.

If you purchased a tractor at the Kinzenbaw auction, please reach out to me. I would be curious to know what you bought and why you wanted this tractor.

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @RussQuinnDTN

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