BigIron Auction Sets Records with Nemaha County Auctions

Farmers, like everyone else, eventually retire. Some have children who take over operations at the farm, but others end up with a collection of equipment and machinery that, in retirement, would serve very little purpose. That’s where BigIron Auction comes in, and in the last few weeks, BigIron has held auctions on a grand scale in Nemaha County. 
According to Jeff Gerdes, the contact and sales representative for Nemaha County and surrounding areas, equipment from the previous auction was bought and taken to thirty-five different states. On Friday, March 20, BigIron held an equipment inspection day for the Lynn Rogge sale. Gerdes claimed to have seen 100 vehicles before lunch. 
Lynn Rogge, who was present at the equipment inspection day, explained that while there were a few machines he was keeping for himself, for house work or sentiment, almost everything else was going to be sold. Rogge graduated in 1969 from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with an economics and agriculture degree, and noted that he originally wanted to be a veterinarian before taking over the farm from his father in 1972. Rogge worked and leased around 3500 acres of land altogether, and raised cattle up until 2015. Now, he’s got his collection of 66 different machines and equipments up for sale.
“BigIron doesn’t sell things, we provide a service,” Gerdes explained, “Our biggest goal is to help the sellers every step of the way.” The process for one of BigIron’s online auctions begins with the announcement, a publishing of the items list around five weeks in advance to the sale date. Bidding then opens up two weeks before the end, and the target they hope to hit is somewhere between more than the original bought price and below the current price of a new machine. This tends to be easier to achieve when the equipment on auction is well maintained throughout the farmer’s career, and Gerdes praised Nemaha County farmers for their attention to maintenance.
BigIron was recently bought by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, a global machinery and equipment auction service. This buyout was not a takeover, however, and Gerdes noted that while Ritchie Bros is the leading entity in the world, BigIron has been the biggest in agricultural machinery auctions. “Before the buying, BigIron had 850,000 registered bidders. Now that Ritchie Bros. has added their bidder list to ours, that number is going to go up drastically.” 
The Lynn Rogge auction will have concluded by the time readers find this article, but BigIron is constantly posting new lists and auctions for those looking to upgrade or add new machines and vehicles to their fleets.