The answer is apparently the equipment markets. The latest monthly tractor and combine sales report from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers shows increased combine sales. U.S. retail sales of combines jumped almost 59 percent last month, compared to April of 2017. However, total tractor sales in the U.S. rose less than one percent, versus this time last year. AEM Senior Vice President of Ag Services Curt Blades notes that the downward trend in net farm income “obviously is a concern” since it is such a big factor in equipment sales. He says there is still a lot of uncertainty with the year one-third over. The report goes on to show that while sales of tractors over 100 horsepower jumped almost 18 percent in Canada, they fell about seven percent in the U.S., compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, Canadian retail sales of combined didn’t fare quite as well as the U.S., as they rose just 9.2 percent, compared to a year ago.