Combine Financing

Combine financing is a loan or lease secured by the combine and usually repaid annually after harvest, over 3–7 years with 10–20% down that a trade-in often covers. A new Class 6–7 combine costs roughly $450K–$750K before the header, a Class 8–10 machine $750K–$1.1M or more, and late-model used combines $100K–$400K. The header is a separate machine with its own price, and on used combines lenders check two hour meters: engine hours and separator hours.

Typical 2026 pricing. Combine classes are industry size bands based on horsepower and grain capacity. Yield monitoring, guidance and automation packages add to the invoice.

Illustrative level payments on the amount financed, shown per payment period.

A combine does its work in a few weeks a year, and the farm is paid when the crop is sold. Combine financing is built around that. Annual payments due after harvest are standard, with the first payment set for after the machine’s first season, and semi-annual schedules suit operations that sell grain in two windows. Interest accrues between payments, so an annual schedule costs slightly more than monthly on the same balance, but it matches the payment to the income.

A combine has two hour meters that matter. Engine hours count every hour the engine runs, including road travel and idling. Separator hours count only the time the threshing and separating system is engaged, which is where most of the expensive wear happens: the rotor or cylinder, concaves, feeder house, sieves and chopper.

Buyers, appraisers and lenders read both. A combine with high engine hours but modest separator hours may have spent much of its life moving between fields, while a high separator count means heavy crop throughput. Ask for both numbers, the service history, and records of any major separator work.

The header is a separate machine with its own price, often $70K–$200K. A draper or flex header cuts small grains and soybeans; a corn head picks corn. Many operations own two. Headers can be financed with the combine or on their own, and a header trailer can go on the same deal. So can a grain cart.

The trucks and trailers that haul grain from the field are a separate purchase with their own financing: see semi truck financing and semi trailer financing.

Custom harvesting crews follow the harvest across several states each season with multiple combines, headers, carts and trucks. Lenders underwrite them on their contracts and acreage history rather than on land, and they often replace combines on shorter cycles than farms do. A crew adding a combine can finance it as part of a package with its header and support equipment. Deposits arrive across a longer season than a single farm’s, so schedules can be semi-annual or matched to the crew’s route.

Used combines finance routinely, and many are bought through dealers after trade-ins, at farm auctions or from neighbors. Before you commit, get a pre-harvest inspection that covers the separator, feeder house, drives and the header together. Farm machinery is generally untitled, so on a private sale the lender relies on a bill of sale and its UCC filing, runs a lien search, and pays the seller directly. For an auction, get pre-approved before sale day, since auction terms usually require payment within days. Older or high-hour machines may need an appraisal.

Manufacturer promotional rates on new combines are real but usually replace a cash rebate and apply only to that brand’s new machines. Compare the promotional rate with financing independently and taking the rebate. Most combine deals include a trade, and trade equity usually covers the 10–20% down payment. If the trade still has a balance, the payoff is handled at closing.

A combine placed in service by December 31 qualifies for Section 179 like a cash purchase, up to $2,560,000 for tax years beginning in 2026. A machine delivered and used in the fall harvest counts for that year. Confirm with your CPA.

Seed, fertilizer, fuel and labor between harvests are better funded with a revolving business line of credit than stretched onto an equipment payment; seasonal business financing covers the options. For tractors, sprayers and planters, see tractor financing and farm equipment financing, or apply once at equipment financing and we will compare offers across 100+ funding partners.