Articles by Kim Schmidt

Titan Int'l CEO Says South America Could Absorb Used U.S. Farm Machinery

By Kim Schmidt posted on November 12, 2015 | Posted in Data & Forecasts

High used equipment inventories is a problem plaguing North American farm equipment dealers. According to the Ag Equipment Intelligence's October Dealer Sentiments & Business Conditions survey, a net 33% of dealers say they used equipment inventory was too high in September.

CNH Issues Response to Deere’s Precision Planting Acquisition

By Kim Schmidt posted on November 9, 2015 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Manufacturer News

According to Dan Danford, the change in Precision Planting’s ownership will not impact current arrangements with CNH and Case IH dealers.

[Webinar] Building a 21st Century Dealership Facility

By Kim Schmidt posted on October 20, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

The next event in our webinar series looks at how to build a 21st century dealership facility. Three dealer principals, who've recently renovate or built completely new facilities, shared what they've learned from their experiences. [To view any of our webinar replays, you must be logged in with a free user account.]

Preparing the Next Generation of Technicians

Capital Tractor sponsors successful interns at SUNY Cobleskill to help prepare them for the workforce.

By Kim Schmidt posted on October 16, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices

Capital Tractor’s service manager John Mattison understands the importance of finding and training young service technicians. He currently serves on the Ag Engineering Consulting Committee at State University of New York (SUNY) Cobleskill as well as the Ag Advisory Board with the Greenwich High School.

Industry Q&A: Training Background of New Employees

By Kim Schmidt posted on October 16, 2015 | Posted in Department Management

We asked dealers to respond to the following question: "What is one thing you wish more new employees had experience with or were trained on before their first day on the job?"

Finding Success as a Single-Store Dealership

Capital Tractor achieves success by empowering its staff and keeping used equipment inventory low.

By Kim Schmidt posted on October 16, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Dealer Succession

In the nearly 50 years that Capital Tractor has been in business it has operated as many as 3 stores. But today, the Greenwich, N.Y., New Holland dealer is a single-store dealership and president Jamey Gibson doesn’t see that changing.

On the Record

Could Consolidation Among Top OEMs Happen in the Next Two Years?

By Kim Schmidt posted on October 9, 2015

In today's newscast we look at possible scenarios for manufacturer consolidation in the next 2 years, a new online resource that lets retailers coordinate equipment rentals with farm customers, OEM outlook for the next 12 months, the products dealers think are the "best bet" for improving sales in 2016 and Art's Way's latest earnings report.

On the Record

New Holland Expects 'Decent Year' in 2016

By Kim Schmidt posted on September 25, 2015

In today’s newscast we look at New Holland’s outlook for 2016, used equipment inventory challenges, how precision ag parallels the IT industry and the need for farmers to cut $100 per acre in 2016.

Farm Progress Show 2015

Manufacturer Efforts to Help Manage Used Combine Inventories

By Kim Schmidt posted on September 24, 2015 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Manufacturer News

At the 2015 Farm Progress Show, we caught up with Jeff Lentz, remarketing manager with Claas of America, to talk about what manufacturers are doing to help manage used combine inventories.

Case Study 5

What Can a Farmer Do to Take the Emotion Out of Spending Decisions?

By Kim Schmidt posted on September 4, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

Running a large-scale farm and cattle operation involves more than caring for the land and animals. It is a business operation that requires sound financial records so that decision making can be based on data rather than emotion.

Current Issue

Farm Equipment

5 Dealers Share Latest Facility Projects

Dealers Better Prepared for Softening in Used Market

Strong Customer Relationships, Parts Inventory Central to Spring Success

Don’t Get Caught Fighting the Last War

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Big Dealer Consolidation Continues in 2024

In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Weasler Engineering, we break down the key takeaways from Ag Equipment Intelligence's newly released 2024 Big Dealer Report. In the Technology Corner, Noah Newman shows us how cover crop planting could be done autonomously. Also in this episode, CNH Industrial reports a drop in ag sales, AGCO combine and application equipment sales are down year-over-year and a UK New Holland factory strike could impact North America.

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