Birkey’s accounted for six of the seven dealerships recognized by the Pinnacle Excellence Program for 2015. Birkey's locations earning Pinnacle Excellence status were Gibson City, Henry, Hoopeston, Oakland, Prophetstown, and Urbana, Ill.

There are innumerable ways to grow your dealership. And Mike Hedge's message that it can be done without resorting to outside influences or taking on extra debt was a welcome message. Seeking outside capital via a public offering or working with private equity groups are options, but they aren't for everyone says the Birkey's president and CEO.

Until January 2013, Birkey's Farm Stores has had only three president/CEOs in its near-60-year history. When Ron Birkey retired at the end of last year, the dealership's board of directors elected Mike Hedge (see article on p. 18) as just its fourth president/CEO.

Campbell asked for dealers who could say every one of their employees knew what they'd be promoting the following month. Imagine the sound of crickets. "That's a struggle, to get everybody focused in the dealership on the target and what you're going to be promoting," says Campbell. He recalls the day at Birkey's when each store was doing its own thing, often with the parts department running a different promotion than the store, and service

In the mid-1980s, the Case Construction Equipment division was losing a dealer in Champaign, Ill. To fill the gap, Case asked Birkey’s Farm Store to pick up the region’s sales contract. The timing was right, as the collapse of the farm market had the dealership interested in finding ways to diversify its business.

Mike Carley gets involved in every wholegoods sale to make sure the deal makes sense for the company.

For all but 3 or 4 days a month, Mark Foster is on the road tending to the business of the 11 ag dealership operations. Each of the managers report directly to him.

While Mike Carley is comfortable delegating day-to-day decisions to his key managers, he also realizes that at the end of the day, he holds ultimate responsibility for the store’s performance. He needs to stay involved.