During his December 2025 announcement of a $12 billion farm aid package, President Donald Trump called on equipment manufacturers to lower prices, claiming farming machinery has become "too expensive" because of environmental regulations.

"There's so much equipment for environmental stuff that doesn't do anything," Trump said. "We're going to take that crap off that they put on. They're always under repair... You have to be a PhD."

But while many farmers share concerns over rising machinery costs, dealers and manufacturers point to deeper market forces driving prices - and say the issue isn't solved by rolling back emissions rules alone.

According to the 2026 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends survey, for the second year in a row, the increasing cost of new equipment was ranked as the top concern among dealers. A striking 88.8% of dealers expect price hikes between 1-6%, while another 10% foresee increases above 7% in 2026.

Although emissions regulations - like Tier 4 Interim and Tier 4 Final - did lead to a price jump about a decade ago, the industry adapted, especially as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology brought fuel savings of around 6%, which dealers saw as a fair trade-off.

Today, however, prices continue to climb due to several compounding factors:

• Raw materials such as steel and electronics have surged in cost.
• Technological advancements in precision agriculture and automation demand higher investment.
• Tariffs - including some introduced during Trump's own administration - are still being baked into machinery prices.

One dealer, cited in the October Dealer Sentiments Report, said OEMs are raising costs through base price adjustments and likely incorporating tariff-related expenses. Another noted shortline manufacturers are passing along price hikes of up to 10%, warning this may deter equipment purchases.

Some of the most advanced machinery is now harder to maintain due to complex onboard systems, but this complexity often supports greater yields, input efficiency, and sustainability - all critical for U.S. agriculture's competitiveness.

A dealer from an earlier 2014 report reflected this view: "What you're seeing is more complexity, bigger mufflers, bigger radiators... with basically the same fuel economy. It's just one of these government-mandated costs that have to be absorbed."

Still, today's price pain goes beyond emissions. The challenge now is navigating tight commodity markets, higher input costs, and increasingly price-sensitive customers. "It becomes more difficult to pass that on and get full price realization," one dealer noted.

So, is it really that easy to lower equipment costs? Dealers suggest not. Emissions rollback alone won't reverse rising prices. Instead, it will take a broad strategy across the supply chain - addressing materials, tariffs, innovation costs, and buyer needs - to ease the burden on America's farmers.