Agents said while bigger machinery was difficult to move at the moment, livestock equipment was in strong demand.

The first auctions of the year with significant farming equipment were held at Malinong and Inman Valley on Friday, January 13.

Brock Harcourts agent Sue Brand, who ran the sale at Inman Valley on behalf of David and Beth Kay, said there was 111 registered bidders.

"They were almost exclusively from the Fleurieu Peninsula, but there was also interest from Victoria," she said.

The top-selling items were a Mitsubishi 4WD, knocked down for $7500 and a Case IH 595 tractor that made $7000.

Fifty round bales of hay sold for $46 each, while cattle scales sold for $880.

There was strong bidding on portable sheepyard panels, which made $630.

One of the big ticket items, a Leyland tractor, failed to sell at auction.

Auctioneer Mark Forde said while there was a strong crowd of more than 300 people, prices were not over the top.

"Things are getting a bit tight, so it could be a good opportunity to get items without paying too much," he said.

Spence Dix & Co agent Mark O'Leary said there were 113 registered bidders at the Malinong sale, but larger plant - such as headers and tractors - failed to sell. The sale was held at Dean Bagshaw's property, which has been sold.

"It was a solid sale, but it wasn't anything over the top, stuff sold for what it was worth," he said.

Interest at the sale came from the Eyre Peninsula, Mallee, South East and locally.

The big ticket item was a Walsh & Ford 18-tonne chaser bin sold for $25,000.

A stone-roller made $16,000, while a Jackson 180t field bin made $4200.

A Chamberlain C670 tractor, with 5527 hours of drive-time, went for $10,200 while a Simplicity airseeder and box made $15,000.

A TPW woolpress made $8100, a children's four-wheel Yamaha motorbike sold for $1300 and a Cole seed and super unit made $5600.