Pain for equipment makers could continue well beyond upturn

Farm equipment makers in the US insist the sales slump they face this year because of lower crop prices and farm incomes will be short-lived.

Yet there are signs the downturn may last longer than tractor and harvester makers& are letting on and the pain could persist long after corn, soybean and wheat prices rebound.

Farmers and analysts say the elimination of government incentives to buy new equipment, a related overhang of used tractors, and a reduced commitment to biofuels, all darken the outlook for the sector beyond 2019 — the year the US Department of Agriculture says incomes will begin to rise again.