Market Impact of Removing Emissions Controls from Ag Equipment

During the Trump administration's announcement on Dec. 8, 2025 about the $12 billion aid package for farmers, he called for farm equipment manufacturers to lower prices “because farming equipment has gotten too expensive.”

In his comments, Trump took aim at the emissions controls and said all they do is make equipment more expensive. Trump said they were going to let John Deere and the other manufacturers remove those controls.

In an interview with Fox Business, Deere’s CFO  Josh Jepsen pushed back gently on Trump’s claim that regulations alone are driving up tractor prices, “saying the true path to lowering costs for America’s farmers lies in cutting-edge tech — from AI weed detection to digitized acres — that can save growers money long before the rule books change.”

Tim Brannon, owner of B&G Equipment, said Trump “pulled the pin and dropped a grenade on the farm equipment industry when he said we are going to remove emission controls.

He says:

“At least, that is what we think we heard. One industry source commented 'we are coming apart at the seams'. What was meant were the possible repercussions of such a move. The underlying premise is the emissions systems on diesel engines are not reliable; they are finicky, fragile and most of all costly.  The removal will be a godsend to all except those who make the emission equipment. Whoever comes to market first with non-emission power will have a real chance at grabbing a huge chunk of the market.”

He goes on to say that the reality is that you can’t just remove the emissions systems, whether that is DEF or a particulate filter. It will take time to re-engineer the systems and bring them to market.

While the perception may be that these units would be cheaper, Brannon says in reality that’s likely not the case. At this point, there are likely more questions than answers, but Brannon says at his dealership the reception so far has been positive from everyone, customers included.

One question that has popped up in response to Trump’s statement is what impact could this change have on the used equipment market.

Josh Peddycord, Regional Sales Manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, says if the change is made the far bigger concern would be what it would do to the used market.

He says,  

“It's no secret that there is a glut of used equipment out there and dealers are already struggling to move this gear. Ironically, used values are strongest when new machines are expensive and complex.”

We also checked in with Tractor Zoom’s Andy Campbell for his perspective on the impact to the used market.

"There is a lot of aged equipment sitting on dealership lots right now, and those, they wouldn't sell. So who would want to buy a one or two-year-old late model piece of equipment at a exact same or even a higher price than a brand new piece of equipment without this DEF problem in it? Implications to equipment dealers, whoever's left holding that bag of that DEF equipment, oof, that would be a major hit."

As Tim Brannon pointed out, hopefully the “grenade dropped was a practice model that spurs organized, welcome relief instead of an explosion that further destroys a depressed market.”