Gone are the days of selling equipment purely on the basis of the capabilities of the product, says Scott Downey, a professor in the department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University.

Earlier this year Bryndon Meinhardt, regional manager of KanEquip, a 9-store New Holland and Case IH dealer based in Wamego, Kan., and Clint Schnoor, then president of Agri-Service, a 14-store AGCO dealer based in Kimberly, Idaho, sat down to discuss the differences and similarities their between their two businesses. Topics that emerged from the conversation included how their customers have changed, organic farming and what’s driving technology trends.

“Data is the currency of the internet,” says Tim Whitley, CEO of Team SI, a full-service marketing firm headquartered in Little Rock, Ark. “The smartphone to the person right or left of you is being served different ads all the time. No person’s ads are identical to their neighbor’s and data is leading that charge.”

Floyd Helmuth’s father, John, began his Kalona, Iowa, shortline dealership in 1956 by becoming a dealer for Art’s Way Manufacturing.

It was 1946 when Howard Hills decided to build a shortline dealership in the heart of North Dakota’s Red River Valley. Scott Hill says his father, John, took over after and he and his two brothers (Dave and Mike), are at the helm of Hills Inc. today. A couple of Dave’s sons are working their way into the family business as its fourth generation.

J.R. Harris says even after his dad had passed in 1990, the decision to keep his namesake for the family business, J.O. Harris Sales, was one that didn’t take much discussion. Today, J.R.’s son, Jay, is the third generation heading the shortline dealership in Alexander, Ill.

From skid loaders to telescopic handlers, farm material handling equipment has become a common sight on many farms today. The main selling point, dealers say, is this equipment’s flexibility and ability to multi-task. With a skid loader, for example, a simple change of attachment and a sweeper becomes a snowplow or wood splitter.

Dealers may want to take a new look at grain bagging equipment. When the elevators are unable to keep up with record-high grain yields, farmers don’t want combines sitting still.

Field demos and rental equipment can help customers see first hand the benefits of planting cover crops and justify an equipment purchase