Grain farmers have used a string of profitable years to replace outdated equipment, setting up a challenging year for farm implement manufacturers, said Jim Walker, Case IH North America vice president.

With a young equipment fleet and declining crop margins, farmers are only going to make new equipment purchases that bring clear benefits to their operation, Walker told reporters recently at a new product introduction event at Case IH’s training center near Ames.

“The industry is definitely go­­ing through a reduction mode right now,” Walker said. “You’ve got a lot of used equipment building up on dealer lots, you’ve got producers getting less for their product and you’ve got a young fleet. At the end of the day, producers don’t have to buy....