Bringing two strong family businesses together can be messy. Trying to unite two cultures and two ways of operating the business into one isn’t without its challenges. But, for Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners (formed in January 2020 through the merger of Sydenstricker Implement Co. and Wm. Nobbe & Co.), year one of the merger proved not only to be a success but the team got there with little to no drama.

There are things within our control in this business (effort, commitment and focus to name a few), and many things that are not. If we needed any reminders, we’ve found them recently: trade wars, the Covid-19 pandemic, falling stock and commodity prices, including trading halts. And then there’s the familiar yet always unpredictable face of Mother Nature.

There are things within our control in this business (effort, commitment and focus to name a few), and many things that are not. If we needed any reminders, we’ve found them recently: trade wars, the Covid-19 pandemic, falling stock and commodity prices, including trading halts. And then there’s the familiar yet always unpredictable face of Mother Nature.

There are things within our control in this business (effort, commitment and focus to name a few), and many things that are not. If we’ve needed any reminders, we’ve found them recently: trade wars, Covid-19 pandemic, and falling stock and commodity prices, including two trade halts. And then there’s the familiar yet always unpredictable face of Mother Nature.

Every piece of content we create for Farm Equipment involves “Conversations in Ag,” but for the second time now our team embarked on a special project that involved coordinating conversations with a variety of individuals from across all aspects of the ag industry.

Every piece of content we create for Farm Equipment involves “Conversations in Ag,” but for the second time now our team embarked on a special project that involved coordinating conversations with a variety of individuals from across all aspects of the ag industry.

As our small company grew and org charts were redefined, sales management was off-loaded from my plate last year to create more capacity for strategy and vision. And probably not unlike transitions at your dealerships, I work hard every day not to stick my nose back in. Michael Ellis, director of sales, is managing me through the weaning stage.

“There is a great need for shortlines. The key from a dealer’s perspective is to find a hot product, sell the hell out of it and then know when to stop ordering.”

In a mature industry like farm machinery, consolidation has become something we need to deal with ... just like death and taxes. It’s very much like Darwinism and survival of the fittest. It’s not popular with some dealers, manufacturers nor farmers, but this business is “adapt or die.”