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U.S. farmers' crop choices this year are likely to reduce demand for new farm equipment, according to industry experts and financiers.

Tuesday's U.S. Department of Agriculture report on spring planting intentions is expected to show an increase in soybean acres this year over corn.

Soybeans don't require the nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow corn, thereby reducing farmers' production expenses and putting less wear and tear on their tractors.

"Farmers are going to be backing off the big purchases they've been making," said Charles Yengst, president of consultants Charles Yengst & Associates.

"They can easily get along for another year or two" with the equipment they are already using, he said.

Sales of tractors and combines in the U.S. this year are expected to fall by 5% to 15% from 2008, according to industry estimates, ending the record rise in revenue and profits experienced by machinery makers Deere & Co. (DE), CNH Global N.V. (CNH) and Agco Corp. (AG).

The anticipated pullback mirrors the expected decline in cash receipts from farming this year and farmers' efforts to avoid exposure to additional debt.

The USDA expects cash receipts to fall about 9% from 2008 to $295 billion, largely because of lower commodity prices.

The price of corn, which climbed last year on demand from overseas markets and the ethanol industry, is down 50% from its record peak last summer. But at almost $4 per bushel, corn is still above its 10-year average price and nearly double the lows of a few years ago.

The steep price drop has taken farmers out of the mood for buying new equipment, industry observers said. The credit crunch in the broader economy is providing an additional disincentive.

"There's a fear of financing new equipment," said Heiko Ihle, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. "These are not people who live leveraged lives. The average farmer is extremely conservative."

By all accounts though, farmers' continue to have adequate access to credit, and their debt-to-asset ratios are the lowest in 40 years.

"The general consensus is that we are seeing less demand [for credit] in the first quarter [compared to 2008]," said John Ryan, president and chief executive of Rabo AgriFinance, a U.S. arm of the Dutch Rabobank.

The strong financial condition of U.S. farmers isn't shared by farmers elsewhere in the world, however.

Currency issues, reduced access to credit and smaller crop yields because of drought are weighing on equipment sales in South America and Europe, where Agco and CNH hold large shares in the equipment market.

-By Bob Tita, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4129; robert.tita@dowjones.com