April/May 2015

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

To The Point: It's Easy to Forget

By Dave Kanicki posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Data & Forecasts

As I was coming down on the elevator of the hotel where I was attending a meeting last week, one of the passengers looked at me and said, “You’re the forecast guy.” He kind of took me off guard, and I said, “I do some work in the that area.”
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Analysis & Business Conditions Update

Declining Growth Rate of U.S. Farm Assets Will Impact Lending in 2015

April 10, 2015 | Posted in Data & Forecasts

U.S. farm sector assets and equity (inflation-adjusted) are forecast to decline in 2015 for the first time since 2009. The rate of growth in U.S. farm sector assets and equity (assets minus debt) is expected to moderate in 2015 compared with recent years, and to decline for the first time since 2009 after adjusting for inflation.
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Tillage or No-Tillage: High Yields or Soil Health?

The growing emphasis on soil health could be a deciding factor in what type and how much tillage farmers will utilize in the future.

By Dave Kanicki posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

Dealers who haven’t picked up on the push for “soil health” in the last few years haven’t been paying enough attention. When you see mention of ag-related trends in media like the New York Times, it’s probably not because they were looking to write something about agriculture.
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Dealer Modernization

Building Big on Productivity

Dealers who have updated and modernized their facilities — from the showroom to the wash bay and everywhere in between — have found new efficiencies throughout the company.

By Jaime Elftman and Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Facilities

For Todd Kunau, owner of Kunau Implement, a Case IH dealer with 2 stores in Iowa, modernizing his facilities at the Preston location had everything to do with staying relevant to their customers and being a dealership that will still be here in the future.
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Dealer Modernization Web Extras

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

Dealers who have updated and modernized their facilities — from the showroom to the wash bay and everywhere in between — have found new efficiencies throughout the company.
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Products in Action, April/May 2015: Thurston Manufacturing

April 10, 2015

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How Fast Can We Plant?

A panel at the National Farm Machinery Show gave 4 planting suppliers a forum to discuss how they’re addressing the ‘need for speed.’

By Mike Wiles posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

Just over a year ago, John Deere raised the eyebrows of many in the industry with the announcement that the traditional barriers of planting speed and accuracy could be broken. At the 2014 National Farm Machinery Show, the manufacturer unveiled its ExactEmerge row unit system that claimed to provide accurate seed placement at 10 mph.

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Getting Tech Savvy in the Service Department

Technology and software can bring efficiencies to the service department and improve customer satisfaction.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Facilities, Department Management

Improving efficiencies and productivity in the service department is a goal of all farm equipment dealers. After all, a more efficient service department generally translates to a higher absorption rate and improved bottom line. Technology is now aiding in improving those efficiencies by helping to reduce redundancy and allowing technicians to complete tasks from their workstations in the shop. And, technology is also increasing shop efficiency with scheduling and communicating with road techs.

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How Leverage & Inventory Turnover Keep the Balance Sheet in Order

This executive 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.

By Mike Hedge | Posted in Operations & Finance

Financial metrics don’t drive our business, but they are a set of guardrails to keep us from running our business off the cliff. And in a cyclical business, when the business goes up and down, it’s easy for those ratios and metrics to get out of kilter.
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How To Sell: Baling Silage

Baling Silage Helps Offset Weather Challenges

Determine what moisture and quality levels your customers need to find the baling equipment that will best fit their operation.

By Jen Bradley posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Niche Equipment Markets

Dealers agree that the best way to a farmer’s heart is to solve an existing problem by pitching a good idea to them. This has been a particularly effective way of selling silage baling equipment.

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Helping Customers Choose the Right Lease

Knowledge of the different types of leases will help dealers offer farmers the one that best suits their needs.

April 10, 2015 | Posted in Operations & Finance

During my nearly 30 years in the equipment finance industry, I have witnessed several financial cycles that have impacted the agriculture equipment market. These ranged from the 1980s, when farm foreclosures and consolidation of equipment dealers and manufacturers marked a low point in U.S. agriculture, to the 2000s where we have seen explosive growth in both size and scope of farming operations and dealer groups.

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Industry Q&A

A Dealer's Ideal Revenue Mix

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

What do you consider to be the ‘ideal’ revenue mix for your dealership? % wholegoods (new & used) vs. % parts vs. % service vs. % other? Why would this split work best for your operation?
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Technology for Profit

Monetizing ‘Dealership Wisdom’

By George Russell posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Operations & Finance

What is the value of the knowledge, experience and analytical ability (or troubleshooting) that your dealership has developed in order to sell and support your customers? This ability, which has been developed over time and exists in the minds of you and your employees can rightfully be called dealership wisdom.

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Ahead of the Curve

Tractor/Implement Datalink in the Works

By Dan Crummett posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

Twenty years ago, farm field speeds were slower and sprayers and other implements were not as wide, nor were they as complex as systems now farming the land. That was the world into which the first control area network (CAN) was standardized as a communication link between tractors and implements.

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Business of Selling

Leading from the Front

By Dr. Jim Weber posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Operations & Finance

While previous articles have addressed dominating a market, initiating a strategy and executing with speed, all using the precepts of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” this column will use the same source to identify the leadership attributes necessary to win a protracted war of attrition.

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Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Dealer Modernization

Building Big on Productivity

Dealers who have updated and modernized their facilities — from the showroom to the wash bay and everywhere in between — have found new efficiencies throughout the company.

By Jaime Elftman and Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Facilities

For Todd Kunau, owner of Kunau Implement, a Case IH dealer with 2 stores in Iowa, modernizing his facilities at the Preston location had everything to do with staying relevant to their customers and being a dealership that will still be here in the future.
Read More

How Fast Can We Plant?

A panel at the National Farm Machinery Show gave 4 planting suppliers a forum to discuss how they’re addressing the ‘need for speed.’

By Mike Wiles posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

Just over a year ago, John Deere raised the eyebrows of many in the industry with the announcement that the traditional barriers of planting speed and accuracy could be broken. At the 2014 National Farm Machinery Show, the manufacturer unveiled its ExactEmerge row unit system that claimed to provide accurate seed placement at 10 mph.

Read More

Tillage or No-Tillage: High Yields or Soil Health?

The growing emphasis on soil health could be a deciding factor in what type and how much tillage farmers will utilize in the future.

By Dave Kanicki posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Product Innovations & Introductions

Dealers who haven’t picked up on the push for “soil health” in the last few years haven’t been paying enough attention. When you see mention of ag-related trends in media like the New York Times, it’s probably not because they were looking to write something about agriculture.
Read More
Online Extras

Online Extras

Dealer Modernization: Hiawatha Implement, Mound City, Mo.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

John Deere dealership Hiawatha Implement remodeled and expanded by about 75% its Mound City, Mo., last year.
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Dealer Modernization Web Extra: Gellings Implement, Eden, Wis.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

Gellings Implement, a New Holland dealership in Eden, Wis., is in the midst of building an addition to its service shop that will be completed later this year.
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Dealer Modernization: Rathbone Sales Inc., Moses Lake, Wash.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

On March 17, 2012, Rathbone Sales Inc., an AGCO dealer in Moses Lake, Wash., found itself in a situation where it had to remodel. A piece of equipment that had an electrical short caught fire while the dealership was closed for the weekend.
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Dealer Modernization: JayDee AgTech, Swift Current, Sask.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

JayDee AgTech's Swift Current, Sask., John Deere dealership recently held the grand opening of its new multi-million dollar facility.
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Dealer Modernization: New Holland Tri County, Bluffton, Ind.

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Facilities

In March 2014, New Holland Tri County in Bluffton, Ind., expanded its shop and kept energy savings in mind through the process, says manager Ken Mast.
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Johnson Tractor

Dealership Modernization: Expo Center Boosts Sales Opportunities

By Jaime Elftman and Kim Schmidt posted on April 9, 2015

Leo Johnson, owner of Johnson Tractor, explains how the expo center in the newly renovated Janesville, Wis., store helps salespeople bring in sales by showing equipment out of the cold.
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Dealership Modernization: Johnson Tractor

Expanding the Shop to Increase Productivity

By Kim Schmidt and Jaime Elftman posted on April 9, 2015

Leo Johnson, owner of Johnson Tractor, explains how added features in the shop of the newly renovated Janesville, Wis., store help increase productivity.
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Kunau Implement

Dealership Modernization: Centralizing the Parts Department

By Kim Schmidt and Jaime Elftman posted on April 9, 2015

Todd Kunau, owner of Kunau Implement, discusses how the centralized parts department in the newly renovated Preston, Iowa, location helps increase productivity and work flow by having all of the dealership’s parts under one roof.
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Kunau Implement

Dealership Modernization: Improving the Shop

By Kim Schmidt and Jaime Elftman posted on April 9, 2015

Todd Kunau, owner of Kunau Implement, discusses how the features of the new shop in the renovated Preston, Iowa, location help increase productivity.
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Dealership Modernization: Ritchie Implement

Benefits of In-Floor Heat & Air Conditioning

By Kim Schmidt and Jaime Elftman posted on April 9, 2015

Ron Ritchie, owner of Ritchie Implement, says geothermal heating in the newly renovated Cobb, Wis., location, as well as air conditioning, help conserve energy and save the dealership money on heating.
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Ritchie Implement

Dealership Modernization: Creating a Classroom

By Kim Schmidt and Jaime Elftman posted on April 9, 2015

Tony Ritchie, salesman at Ritchie Implement’s newly renovated Cobb, Wis., location says the addition of a classroom for training and meetings has helped the dealership make more efficient use of employees’ time.
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Tracking New vs. Used Sales Mix

By Mike Lessiter posted on April 16, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

Birkey’s Farm Store President/CEO Mike Hedge elaborates on the importance of monitoring sales mixes in wholegoods and how it provided some key warning signs last fall.
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Monitoring Service Productivity: Non-Applied Tech Time Is ‘Thrown-Out’ Inventory

By Mike Lessiter posted on April 16, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

In his general session presentation at the 2015 Dealership Minds Summit in Cincinnati in January, Birkey’s Farm Store President/CEO Mike Hedge also covered service productivity issues and the high cost of unapplied labor most farm equipment dealerships experience. And he encouraged dealers to start looking at service techs through a lens of inventory units.
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Can Parts Turns Be Too High?

By Mike Lessiter posted on April 17, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

Industry Q&A

A Dealer's Ideal Revenue Mix

By Kim Schmidt posted on April 10, 2015 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

What do you consider to be the ‘ideal’ revenue mix for your dealership? % wholegoods (new & used) vs. % parts vs. % service vs. % other? Why would this split work best for your operation?
Read More
Products in Action

Products in Action

Products in Action, April/May 2015: Thurston Manufacturing

April 10, 2015

Read Products in Action
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Farm Equipment

April/May 2015

Table of Contents

Featured Articles

Online Extras

Products in Action

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