Kim Schmidt

Kim Schmidt

Kim Schmidt is the Executive Editor of Farm Equipment and the host of Ag Equipment Intelligence’s On The Record. An award-winning writer, she worked 7 years in business-to-business trade media before joining Lessiter Media in 2012. She is a journalism graduate of Marquette University.

Contact: kschmidt@lessitermedia.com

ARTICLES

Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners leadership group

Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners Recognized as 2021 Dealership of the Year

Formed in 2020 through the merger of Sydenstricker Implement and Wm. Nobbe, SN Partners is well positioned for continued growth following its ‘Blueprint for the Decade.’
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, year one of the merger proved not only to be a success but the team got there with little to no drama.
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Department Management: Parts

Young’s Equipment Finds Depth in its Parts Department

Doug Pascoe, corporate parts manager for the Case IH dealership, says as the dealership has grown, adding a corporate level to the parts department was necessary. The dealership has put a large focus on recruiting young talent and training its rising stars in the parts department.
As the corporate parts manager, Doug Pascoe’s job — simply put — is to ensure the parts departments at Young’s Equipment’s 9 locations remain profitable. 


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Business Technology Special Report

Taking CRM to the Next Level

When used consistently, a customer relationship management system can help improve lead generation, feed marketing automation and increase sales.
Customer relationship management — or CRM — software isn’t new and has been covered in the pages of Farm Equipment several times over the years. But the benefits bear repeating, and the system is only as good as the information you put into it — garbage in, garbage out as the saying goes.
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Kim Schmidt
To the Point

Is There Life Beyond Deere?

Tennessee lost its last single-store John Deere dealer in March, but it didn’t lose a dealer. Clifford Pugh, owner of Tri-County Equipment in Crossville, Tenn., announced recently that Deere informed him in March 2020 that they would be terminating his contract on Sept. 2, 2020 because of lower than expected market share performance. 


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Executive Q&A

Koenig Equipment Reevaluates Metrics

Aaron Koenig, president and CEO of the 15-store John Deere dealership group, discusses how the organization has stayed focused on strategy.

Koenig Equipment is no stranger to change. In its 117 years in business, it has seen changes that range from trading horses for implements to a shift in its major line (including several years of operating both John Deere and Case IH stores). 


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Workforce development art

Benchmarking Dealers’ Employee Development

The Western Equipment Dealers Assn. surveyed farm equipment dealers to gauge where the biggest needs for training and development for future leaders lie.

Workforce development has become an increasingly important topic for the farm equipment industry in recent years. While a lot of attention has been given to the challenge of finding and retaining qualified service technicians, the workforce development issue is much larger than that.


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Dealership Modernization

New Facilities Focus on Customer Experience

3 dealers share the specs of their latest building projects and how they designed the new buildings to better serve both customers and staff.
When farm equipment dealers renovate their facility or build a completely new store, there are usually two main goals. First, create an environment that is appealing to customers and is easy for them to get what they need, whether it’s parts, finding the service department or buying new wholegoods. Second, create a facility that attracts potential employees and makes it easy and efficient for the dealership’s current employees to do their jobs.
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Kim Schmidt

Getting Back on the Road

In typical years, the first quarter is a busy time for our staff, with a lot of time spent out of the office at industry events, meetings and visits with dealers. It’s hard to believe that with the exception of a few regional visits to dealers it’s been a year since we’ve done any extensive travel.


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Executive Q&A

Daryl Shelton Talks Culture, Transparency & Development

As the new executive vice president of RDO Equipment Co.’s Agriculture Division, Daryl Shelton will focus growth on reducing customer stress through precision and aftermarket strategies.

In a year that brought new challenges and unknowns as dealers figured out how to adjust business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, John Deere dealer RDO Equipment Co. was thrown another blow when two members of the Agriculture Division’s leadership — Vice President of Sales Mark Kreps and Vice President of Midwest Agriculture Steve Connelly — were killed in a car crash in August. 


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