Guided Birkey’s Farm Stores through period of great financial growth without outside capital ... & eventually to employee ownership
Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, Mike Hedge, president and CEO of Birkey’s Farm Stores, was given an official sendoff at the company’s flagship store in Bloomington, Ill. My dad, Frank, and I made the 7-hour round trip drive to say thanks to a guy who gave so much to the farm equipment industry.
Hedge was part of the Birkey’s operation for 32 years, including the last 11 as CEO.
After graduating in accounting from the Univ. of Illinois, he took the CPA exam and ended up working for Arthur Anderson and then in the hotel business. “My dad, Gary (who became an owner in 1967 and was president from 1979-99), told me no equipment dealer in the industry needed a CPA back then,” Hedge told me at his retirement party.
The first 38 years of Birkey's Farm Store apparently didn’t require a full-time financial officer. Times have indeed changed.
Lessiter got a master’s-degree type of schooling from Mike Hedge while interviewing him for the CFO position feature article in the debut “Dealership Minds” edition in February 2011.
But his dad, Gary, eventually changed his mind and brought him into the business in 1992 as CFO when Birkey’s had grown from 4 to 7 stores. He joined his brother Jeff (now COO) to become the first full-time financial pro in the business.
Today, Birkey’s Farm Store is a 19-location, 500-employee dealer group supporting Case IH and Case Construction in Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. In 2023, it generated $425 million in sales.
Birkey’s & Farm Equipment
Birkey’s was profiled in the 2nd edition of Farm Equipment produced in our ownershipin 2004. I believe my first encounter with Hedge was at a Illinois dealer association meeting in the winter of 2005. In 2007, Birkey’s Farm Store was selected to the 3rd class of our annual Dealership of the Year in program history and we reconnected on that project.
A few years later, we approached Birkey’s on my dad’s “big idea” – to enlist all the Lessiter Publications staff writers, photographers and videographers to invade a dealership to do a “deep dive” into how all the different cogs in a dealership machine work together.
As the staff editor who most enjoyed the challenge of the metrics and ratios, I volunteered to be paired up with the CFO, Hedge. It was an enjoyable education, and I personally benefited from his simple and clear teaching style. Not only did he know his stuff, but he knew how to teach it so it became "knowledge" for his pupil.
Mike Hedge, Friend of Every Farm Equipment Dealer, Retires
Our coverage on that project culminated in an industry-first 33-page special report for the February 2011 Farm Equipment, which we dubbed the “Dealership Minds” edition.
Our readership told us the report brought a sense of discovery about the full business operations and how their role supported a co-worker and vice versa. When we put our toe into the conference business in 2013, the brand name was extended the already-accepted moniker, and the debut conference in Kansas City was called the “Dealership Minds Summit.” Hedge, along with now- retired VP Mark Foster and Marketing Director Quint Campbell took the podium at the inaugural event. Hedge willingly shared several more times throughout the years, including a keynote session on the key financial metrics that every dealer employee needed to know.
“We finished 2013 with the best year that Birkey’s had ever had, coming off a very strong market in 2011 and 2012,” Hedge recalls. “We immediately proceeded into 2014, which was probably the most difficult and challenging time the farm equipment business had seen in 30 years,” he says.
Hedge experienced a baptism by fire at the helm as he took over for the retiring Ron Birkey.
As publicly-held and private equity models were taking off, Hedge also gave a great presentation about how Birkey’s was able to grow 600% in 12 years – without outside capital, which the operation did by diligently managing the balance sheet and the activities that drive cashflow and asset turns. On numerous occasions, CEO Ron Birkey, referred to Hedge as “the best financial mind in all of the farm equipment industry” and possessing a unique ability to connect financial principles to employees across a spectrum of disciplines and backgrounds.
As he became known as an “evangelist for balance sheet management,” Hedge willingly shared his knowledge on numerous occasions as a keynote speaker at Farm Equipment’s Dealership Minds Summit. Even as he rides off into the sunset, you’ll see a bylined article from him in the March 2024 Farm Equipment.
Hedge’s Selection in the 90 Most Influential Articles in Lessiter Media’s Tenure
“In one of the most requested articles in our history, Mike Hedge shares his approach to teaching employees throughout the dealership the importance of leverage and turnover, the guard rails for keeping the balance sheet — and dealership — on track” Much of the content was repackaged in a free eGuide download that is in the top 5 most downloaded reports in Farm Equipment history. By Mike Hedge, April/May 2015.
“Mike Hedge, CEO of 17-store Case IH dealer Birkey’s Farm Store, says the new ESOP helps with employee retention and will fuel future acquisitions.” By Ben Thorpe, April/May 2022.
It’s no surprise that Hedge – a believer in culture, staff development and leadership – would call the employee stock ownership program (ESOP) in 2021 as the proudest moment of his career.
“It helped secure the culture for the term and provide all of our employee owners the opportunity to benefit from the successes of the business in the long term,” he says.
The conversion of the ESOP, says brother, Jeff, was “where Mike really shined. We watched him take something that was all on our minds -- to figure out how to transition our company to something different. He should feel proud of putting his stamp on that he led us through that.”
Personal Observations on Hedge
In no particular order, here are some notes of my 19 years of observing Hedge:
An executive who didn’t shy away from his faith in leadership; he wears it on his sleeve.
Unique from many other CEOs of his era, who were mostly sales types and leaned toward what they understood best -- the revenue side.
A personable but more reserved personality than many CEOs, he proved that sales charisma and rallying of the troops wasn’t the only way to get the job done. And he proved that “good guys can win,” even when they’re beancounters.
He was not as quotable or free with his words as some others, including his predecessors. But when he did talk, people listened.
Words spoken or written were every bit as important as getting the numbers right on financial statements. He once insisted on changing one word in an article I wrote that I thought to be innocuous. But he also told me the why, and educated me along the way too.
He was willing to share. For as long as I can remember, Birkey’s took it on themselves to share in hopes of getting the industry to better understand itself and its critical success factors – for a benefit beyond their own stores. I wouldn’t say this mindset is rare, but I’ve also come across many dealers who want to keep their gems for themselves and have declined speaking or article opportunities for this reason.
He leads with a humble and servant heart, whether the followers are employees, customers or his fellow dealership brethren.
My relationship with Birkey’s started with Ron Birkey, Mark Foster and Hedge, but what was consistent was a first-class operation that greatly valued relationships. The company made a conscious decision to trust us, support us and made it their business to educate us so we could bring more value to the industry.
Parting gift, the signed guitar
I don’t recall Birkey's ever turning down a “reasonable” request – for our own staff development, to bring us up to speed on a complex subject or giving us feedback on our latest “out of the box” ideas. They even once let us invade their store for 2 days for a strategic planning meeting in their training room, which brought context to our staffers who don’t get into dealerships as much as they’d like. In fact, we made a business-changing decision that day while we were immersed in the world that they let us in to.
It’s now Brady Foster’s turn to lead as president/CEO, and Hedge made sure the 15-year industry veteran was prepared, working closely with him for the last several years in a close transition. When asked about his first 100 days at the helm, Foster said “he was already well past that milestone,” as Hedge quietly began to transition out – but a phone call away – over the last half of 2023 to give Foster the room to maneuver and lead.
I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a bad word said about Birkey’s or its people. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word come from a Birkey’s staffer about any other dealership. That too speaks to the strong culture, and I’m confident Foster and his team will continue it.
As for Hedge, he says he’ll keep busy by playing more golf, nurturing his hobbies, continue to serve on boards of directors and will be "at the ready" in an advisory capacity should Birkey’s need it in 2024.
Those of you who follow Hedge on Facebook will get to see even more of his landscape photography from Florida and northern Michigan.
My guess is that I’ll hear from him too before long, continuing to teach/counsel us when we use the wrong financial or accounting term in an article or daily newsletter. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17),” so keep ‘em coming, Mike. And cheers to you on your retirement.
What Others Say About Mike Hedge
“When Gary Hedge told the owners he was thinking about maybe having Mike come back and join the company, I wasn't sure how it was going to work. Now I know it was the right move. We needed the accounting experience and we really needed Mike's forte in talking to the bankers. He got us going with the right banks and was able to secure the loans.
–Retired Birkey’s Co-Owner Jim Campbell
“We really had a need for that side of the business for somebody to take that lead, and I knew he was very, very good and strong in those areas, and so I knew that it would be an asset.”
–Jeff Hedge, Birkey’s COO
“Back in 1992, we had a lot of success as a sales and service team, but when Mike came on, he brought a certain set of talents that were unique. His strong fiscal education and knowledge helped us to establish a stronger fiscal structure as a company, which allowed us to then be able to execute a plan of growth”
–Retired Birkey’s CEO Ron Birkey
“When he came to work with us, he brought a lot to the table as far as our ability to move into the 20th century as far as financials, and that is one of his very strong assets. He's very smart and has been really recognized by a lot of people in this industry as a very great financial mind.”
–Retired Birkey’s VP Mark Foster
“My first impression with Mike was that he was a financial guy; he knew the numbers. It didn't take him long to pick up on our business and know it inside and out and figure out where we were lacking and what we could do to change things. He talks about maybe taking a different look from 50,000 feet rather than where we're. He’s a strategic thinker, and we’d know he was moving the dialog to the 50,000 feet perspective. He made us take a step back and look at it from a completely different avenue than we were looking at it at the time.”
–Mike Carley, Birkey's VP & COO
“Mike's got a real sharp mind and he thinks a lot about what's going on in the business and what's next. He’s had a vision of where he thinks we need to be going, and he's always looking ahead for the next thing.”
–Birkey’s President & CEO Brady Foster
Use the “Post A Comment” box below to add your own personal memories, anecdotes and congratulations to Mike Hedge on his retirement.
A second-generation ag journalist, Mike Lessiter has been Editor/Publisher of Farm Equipment since 2004. He has covered business-to-business operations, manufacturing and marketing topics since 1992. He has also served in several capacities with the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn., Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers and is a frequent industry speaker. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he was named president of Lessiter Publications Inc. in 2007.
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