What a crazy end to 2021, and what a crazy start to 2022. Lead times haven’t gotten better, and in some cases they have gotten worse. Chip shortages are still an issue, and we likely won’t see much relief in the near term.

Sell tractors, fix them, collect the money and innovate.
Farm equipment dealerships are not considered the most innovative industry, although remarkable innovations occur there on nearly a daily basis. 

Seattle autonomous equipment firm unveils pull-behind laser weeding machine to supplement existing farm equipment fleets with pin-point weeding ability, no ground disturbance, and no chemical residues.

It could be said that the service department is the lifeblood of the dealership. Yet, the service department often presents the most challenges for dealers.

2021 was uncharted territory that brought one surprise after another! 
Dealing with shortages, delays and uncertainty became the norm for dealers, customers and manufacturers. In addition, interim price increases, steel surcharges and freight increases made the equipment market a challenging place to navigate.

“We sell tractors. We fix them. We collect the money.”
This was the insight I received from a seasoned iron peddler upon my first visit to an equipment dealership more than 20 years ago. Simple and action-oriented, his statement summed up the fundamentals of equipment distribution.

OEMs have asked the American Petroleum Institute for new diesel engine oil standards to go with hardware they are developing to meet stringent new 2027 carbon emission and fuel economy requirements.

Farm Equipment's Best of the Web: Week of January 28, 2022 features a movie review, “Percy Vs. Goliath & Our Industry’s Connection.” We got around to the long-awaited viewing of the film, Percy vs. Goliath on Amazon about the famous legal battle of Percy Schmeiser against Monsanto.