5.6.2.2Vertical

Hay, Forage & Specialty Harvest Equipment

Producers of balers, mowers, rakes, and specialty crop harvesting machines.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Agricultural & Farm Equipment (5.6.2), the segment that Hay, Forage & Specialty Harvest Equipment sits within. They are not figures for Hay, Forage & Specialty Harvest Equipment on its own.

Market size
~$53B
Growth
~10.0%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~1,157 firms
Firms by employee count

65.1% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 753 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe404 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
25764%
100–499
9925%
500+
4812%

Among the fastest growth here, and it is a farm-income story rather than a structural one: record grain prices in 2021–22 funded a replacement cycle that had been deferred for years. Farm income has since fallen and equipment orders with it. A dealer or component supplier bought on 2022 earnings is being bought at the peak.

NAICS 333111, 333112. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Equipment sales through dealers plus parts and service

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$45,345,510
Revenue per employee
$645,513
Employees per firm
74.3
Recurring revenue
Moderate–High

recurring parts, service, and precision-ag

EBITDA margin
Cyclical equipment; strong aftermarket
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 10% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 48 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Consolidated around Deere, CNH, AGCO, Kubota.
  • Precision agriculture, autonomy, and connectivity rising.
  • Cyclical with farm income and crop prices.

NAICS 333111, 333112. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandPennsylvaniaIowaNebraska

Farm equipment is built where the farms are. Nebraska and Iowa carry roughly eight times the national concentration, tied to the corn belt and the dealer networks serving it.

NebraskaIowaPennsylvania

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 333111/333112. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Agricultural-equipment majors
  • Precision-ag & ag-tech acquirers
  • PE-backed dealer/component platforms

What’s driving deals

  • Precision-ag and autonomy technology.
  • Aftermarket and dealer consolidation.
  • Farm-economics cyclicality.

Find Hay, Forage & Specialty Harvest Equipment acquisition targets

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