Ritchie’s Tipton auction features 200 ag tractors

TIPTON, Calif. — One year after celebrating the grand opening of its new Tipton auction site in Tulare County, Calif., Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, conducted the site’s first auction of 2011 on Feb. 11. The auction took place the day after the World Ag Expo, the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition, which was held five miles north of the Tipton site in Tulare County from Feb. 8-10. More than 1,100 items from 190 consignors were featured in the auction; agricultural equipment and tractors comprise approximately half of the inventory. The auction was open to the public and anyone could bid in person at the site on auction day, online in real time at www.rbauction.com or by proxy.

Last year, Ritchie Bros. held four auctions at its new Tipton site, attracting 1,200 bidders, 180 consignors and more than 900 lots on average. The Company also set a record at the Tipton Grand Opening last February when it sold 550 agricultural items – the most agricultural lots in a U.S. industrial auction in 2010.

“The Grand Opening of our new Tipton site last February kicked off a very successful first year at the site,” said Jeremy Martella, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers area manager. “We’ve been able to address the needs of buyers and sellers in the agricultural, construction and transportation sectors simultaneously, which is what makes the Tipton site unique. Given the way this week’s auction is shaping up, we are expecting a very strong year at the Tipton site in 2011.”

A major highlight of last week’s Tipton auction included a large selection of agricultural tractors and equipment. Among the tractors being sold were 130 MFWD tractors, of which, 40 were 2010 John Deere 7330 models. Other agricultural equipment included belted and utility tractors, 50 windrowers, headers, balers, swathers, seeding equipment, discs, plows, spreaders and more. The auction also featured more than 35 late model Peterbilt 379 truck tractors and an assortment of water, van, utility, dump, fuel & lube, flatbed and mechanics trucks. Construction equipment sold included: hydraulic excavators, compactors, rollers, loader backhoes, wheel loaders and crawler tractors. Every item in the auction was sold to the highest bidder on auction day – regardless of price—with no minimum bids or reserve prices.
For more information, visit www.rbauction.com or Ritchie’s equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com

Hall & Hall unveils new ranch auction service

BILLINGS, Mont. — After more than six decades of providing exceptional real estate services, Hall & Hall, the largest ranch real estate company in the Rocky Mountain West has unveiled Hall & Hall Auctions, to complete its suite of services to owners and prospective owners of Investment Quality Rural Real Estate. Hall and Hall has been a leader in the farm and ranch real estate business since 1946, offering the highest level of service to both buyers and sellers through private treaty sales, financing and management divisions.  However, as IQRRE has increasingly become a recognized asset class for a growing number of investment portfolios, the need to create liquidity through a time sensitive marketing program was recognized. For more information on Hall & Hall Auctions, visit www.hallhall.com or call 406-656-7500.

“There are many reasons we decided to move into the auction market,” said Hall & Hall President Jim Taylor. “The most critical one is that IQRRE is increasingly sought after, and a broad cross section of investors, from hedge funds and private equity to wealthy individuals and families, are interested in having a portion of their portfolio invested in this asset class, which is available in a very limited supply.”

Auctions have for centuries been a way to achieve true price discovery. It has been used as the primary method of selling for virtually every legitimate asset class known to man – from stocks and bonds to commodities to race horses to rare works of art and vintage wines. These investment assets are all rendered immediately liquid through an auction. Certain types of land – primarily smaller tracts of farmland in the Midwest – have traditionally been sold using the auction method. However, this method has only rarely been used to sell IQRRE throughout the Great Plains and Mountain West.

“While researching auction firms and what they had to offer, the idea of creating an auction option from within Hall and Hall became more intriguing,” said Taylor.  “We felt compelled to offer a service that was superior to those currently available.”

Scott Shuman, one of the industry’s most highly respected and successful auctioneers of quality rural land, will head up Hall & Hall auctions. Shuman brings over 20 years of experience and an impeccable reputation with him. His innovative and thoroughly transparent methods, combined with the Hall and Hall “rolodex” of over 30,000 prospects, will allow the company to create liquidity and true price discovery for rural land that it has not had before.

Hall and Hall was formed in 1946 as a agricultural mortgage company, and has since branched out into farm and ranch brokerage, appraisals, resource management and enhancement, retained search, and consultation on conservation easements and stewardship plans. Hall and Hall has emerged as a large full service rural real estate firm within the Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains regions, managing more than 525,000 acres of land, servicing a loan portfolio of more than $400 million. A unique partnership between its offices in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado ensures that the client receives local knowledge and personal service as well as the international perspective needed to make informed acquisition and management decisions.