Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a leading global provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure and mechanized irrigation equipment for agriculture, announced today that it has acquired a majority interest in South Dakota-based AgSense.

Do you use parts-to-labor ratio as a key benchmark in your operation? This important rule of thumb maintains that for every dollar of labor sales, your dealership should generate one dollar of parts sales. Both parts and service should be your dealership's most profitable departments and this ratio helps drive profits in both areas.

Tim Norris, CEO of Ag Info Tech, a precision farming dealership in Mount Vernon, Ohio, takes a look at common and complicated problems precision farming dealers face and solutions to simplify their lives and those of customers to increase efficiency and profitability.

PrairieLand did $36 million in parts and another $18 million in service in 2013. A few things to note ...

In the wake of Kramer, Ltd. announcing its intent to exit the agricultural equipment business, CLAAS of America has made immediate plans to fill the gap left by its long-time dealer with two new, full-service dealerships in Saskatchewan. The move, part of a planned dealership expansion in western Canada, will ensure that CLAAS customers in the region will experience little or no disruption of service or support.

Effective five p.m. today, I am pleased to announce the purchase of assets of Pioneer Equipment in Mission, Raymondville, and Brownsville, Texas, by Wylie & Son, Inc., dba Wylie Implement and Spray Centers, Lubbock, Tx. We at Wylie are excited by this opportunity, and are anxious to serve as your dealer of choice for all your farm equipment needs. We are now the exclusive Case IH and New Holland Agriculture franchisees in the area, with the full array of contracts, including self-propelled sprayers.

AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE: AGCO), a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, and representatives from over 100 AGCO dealers, cut the ribbon on Tuesday, Feb. 4, on a full-stocking parts distribution center (PDC) in Woodstock, Ontario. The new PDC, which will house 40% more parts, totaling of $7M USD more than the facility it replaced, will ensure customers in eastern Canada have the right parts when they need them most. Dealers traveled from as far away as Nova Scotia to tour the new distribution center and learn about how it will help them better serve their customers.

It's no secret that when a Champlain Valley Equipment customer needs a part, they need it now, and the dealership makes every effort to get that part out to them as soon as possible. For Tim Curtis, parts manager at the St. Albans, Vt., location, the most powerful and efficient communication tool to facilitate getting that part out is his smartphone.

21st Century Equipment, a regional John Deere Dealership group headquartered in Bridgeport, NE, has announced the acquisition of MV Equipment, a John Deere Dealership organization with five locations in eastern Colorado.