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Farm Equipment
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June 2018
Volume: 56
Edition: 5
Conversations in Ag
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Conversations in AgDeere and Case IH Dealers Compete in Janesville
In mid-April, Chris Frodel, Mid-State Equipment (John Deere) drove over from her store to meet in the conference room at Johnson Tractor (Case IH), Leo Johnson’s store. The length of Frodel’s drive on Highway 14 was a full 4 minutes. That’s how close these two dealerships are in the rich agricultural region of Janesville, Wis. Both are second-generation dealers with siblings as partners (Chris runs the business with her brother Bryan and father Curt Hanson, while Leo does the same with brother Eric) and steadily collected additional stores from small-operation origins. Frodel (44) and Johnson (62) also found a lot of similarities and values in their businesses as they dug in for a candid discussion and what the future may look like.Read More
Conversations in AgHelping Specialty Farm Equipment Dealers Succeed
Mark Core of Vermeer Corp. and Richard Fox-Marrs of JCB Inc., top executives from two long established, family owned manufacturers of specialty farm equipment, explore their strategies for helping their dealers be profitable by providing services that go beyond traditional product support. Also, providing highly innovative products gives them an edge that competing dealers don’t have.Read More
Conversations in AgDebating California Tillage
Despite differing opinions, Alan Wilcox, of Wilcox Agri-Products and Jeff Mitchell, no-till advocate at University of California–Davis, sat down during World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., to discuss the challenges and the opportunities for conservation tillage practices to take hold in California’s Central Valley.Read More
Conversations in AgKentucky Grain Producer and Case IH Dealer Discuss Farm Equipment Brand Loyalties
Kentucky grain producer Joe Sisk and Jeff Morgan, H&R Agri-Power (Case IH dealer) share views into each other’s world and why they have not yet consummated a high-ticket deal for Sisk’s 5,000-acre operation, which remains 100% green on combines and tractors. As soon as they sat down, Sisk (45) reminded Morgan (53) that he’d been his tractor engine instructor in 4H 33 years earlier. Morgan remembered the class and the curriculum (“intake, compression, power and exhaust”) but hadn’t realized Sisk had been in the class.Read More
Conversations in AgGlobal Insights on Problem Solving from Experienced Precision Farming Specialists
More than 9,000 miles separate Jason McNeice with Wideland Group in Queensland, Australia, and Kevin Depies with Ritchie’s Implement in Cobb, Wis. While the physical distance between the two Case IH dealerships allows for some uniquely regional differences, the experienced precision farming specialists shared some common ground when it comes to getting into the business and billing out service.Read More
Conversations in AgThe Future of Manufacturing: Retention, Consolidation & Collaboration in the Ag Market
Manufacturer executive Jim Wessing of Kondex Corp. sat down with Doug Griffin, former AGCO vice president and current principal of Context Network, a consulting firm that works with full-line manufacturers. They discussed the lack of experience and availability of skilled workers, knowledge voids, unique challenges of suppliers and manufacturers, and also offered advice for anyone entering the ag market.Read More
Conversations in AgFarmer Steve Berger Discusses the Future of Agriculture
Steve Berger, a fourth-generation grain and hog producer in southeast Iowa, sat down with Ken Zuckerberg, then a senior research analyst in New York with Rabobank. The conversation provided Zuckerberg, who sees the industry from the perspective of a financial analyst, a chance to go eyeball-to-eyeball with a person in the trenches farming every day in Berger, a 2016 No-Till Innovator of the Year. The talk happened in the lobby at the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville.Read More
Conversations in AgLinco-Precision’s Skip Klinefelter Discusses Farming Equipment Sales
A gap in industry experience doesn’t equate to different challenges when proving the value of precision equipment and establishing a rapport with customers. Brenan Schneidermann, precision farming specialist for Town & Country Implement and recent college graduate, sits down with Skip Klinefelter, owner of Linco-Precision, to discuss the precision learning curve, generational approaches to customers and the need for patience when entering the industry.Read More
Conversations in AgDelegation, Innovation & Managing Growth as Manufacturers
Two Canadian manufacturer representatives, John Redekop, owner and founder of Mandako Intl. in Manitoba, and Brad Baker, senior product manager for Salford Group In Ontario, offer their unique perspectives on business growth and finding trustworthy employees to keep management afloat amid expansion.Read More
Conversations in AgTraining Precision Farming Technology Specialists of Tomorrow
Sitting among training implements on the ag campus of Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wis., Zach Ward of Fox Valley Technical College and Joe Sinkula with 12-store John Deere dealership Riesterer & Schnell traded experiences — some shared — on preparing precision specialists for the rigors of an evolving industry.Read More
Conversations in AgHow Tillage & Planting Have Changed
Roger Murdock of Ingersoll Tillage Group and No-Till Farmer founding editor Frank Lessiter discuss changes in agriculture over their careers, including equipment, farm sizes and tillage practices. With Murdock’s career taking him across the globe and Lessiter’s to farms in every state in the U.S., they compared notes on what’s happening here in North America and overseas.Read More
Conversations in AgAgri-Service President & KanEquip Regional Manager discuss their businesses
Clint Schnoor, president of Agri-Service, a large multi-location AGCO dealership headquartered in Idaho and Bryndon Meinhardt, a regional manager for KanEquip, an 8-store CNH dealer in Kansas, sat down to talk for the first time during the Precision Farming Dealer Summit in Louisville, Ky. Despite carrying different brands and covering different markets, the two discovered their businesses have more similarities than differences.Read More
Conversations in AgChallenges of Promoting Shortlines in a Mainline Dealership
Vernon Schmidt (Executive Vice President, Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn.) and Heather Hetterick (Director of Marketing, Redline Equipment) met for the first time during the United Equipment Dealers Assn. in Louisville, Ky., in February. Both have experience working with associations and manufacturers (Hetterick did a stint with the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers before moving to Ohio with husband, Zach, at Redline) and explored the challenges that come with promoting shortlines in a mainline dealership.Read More
Conversations in AgWomen in the Male-Dominated Livestock Industry
Dairy farmer Doris Mold sits down with Jean Goslin, a cow-calf operator, to discuss shifts in the industry, genetics and technology and other topics. The two share a common bond through their involvement with American Agri-Women, along with the distinct challenges they face working in male-dominated industries.Read More
Conversations in AgPreventative Diagnostics in Farm Equipment
John Anderson, president of JCA Electronics and Jan Faassen, sales director for GKN Off-Highway Powertrain, discuss the need for collaboration and standards throughout the supply chain when it comes to preventative diagnostics in farm equipment during the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. Supply Summit in Omaha in April.Read More
Conversations in AgSoil Scientist Joshua Mcgrath & Precision Agriculture Engineer Joe Luck solve the Precision Gap
Agronomy and engineering play critical roles the in development and application of precision practices. But the two areas don’t always intersect in convenient or compatible ways. At this year’s Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in Louisville, soil scientist Joshua McGrath and precision ag engineer Joe Luck dissected the advancements and imperfections of the current state of ag technology to include some of the missing pieces.Read More
Conversations in AgWaupun Equipment’s Jason Drews Talks About Real World Work at Their Dealership
Jason Drews and Jordan Shaw both work at Waupun Equipment, a 2-store New Holland and Massey Ferguson dealer in Wisconsin. Drews is a salesman, but got his start in the service department 15 years ago after graduating from Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), Shaw is in his junior year at FVTC and works in the service department part time. The two sat down to talk about their training experiences and what real world work is like at their dealership.Read More
Conversations in AgMarketing in Agriculture
Ready or not, Generation Z is making its debut at the dealership, factory and the farm. With the influx comes new approaches to branding, politics and advertising, all of which Osborn Barr’s Neil Caskey is determined to sort out. Recent UW-Madison graduate (Life Science Communications within the Ag School) Jordan Gaal finds himself on the fringe between Millennial and Gen Z, providing a unique perspective on what’s to be expected.Read More
Conversations in AgLobbying for Farm Equipment Dealers’ Interests
Tom Rosztoczy, president of Stotz Equipment, a 25-store John Deere dealership with locations in 8 western states, and Dan Scheuers, co-owner of Waupun Equipment, a 2-store New Holland and Massey Ferguson dealership in Wisconsin, sat down to talk in between appointments at the Equipment Dealers Assn. Legislative Fly-In in Washington D.C. in March. Both Rosztoczy and Scheuers are on the EDA Board of Directors.Read More
Conversations in AgNew Holland’s Bret Lieberman & Consultant Bob Clements Discuss Challenges Facing Equipment Dealers
In charge of New Holland’s dealer network, Bret Lieberman of New Holland North America and consultant Bob Clements of Bob Clements Intl. exchanged perspectives on real challenges facing equipment dealers.Read More
Conversations in AgWhat can Business Systems do for Agriculture Equipment Dealers?
Anne Salemo, CEO and president of Charter Software based in Littleton, Colo., sits down with Mike Prengler, director of operations for HBS Systems in Richardson, Texas. Working closely with their own networks of dealers and OEMs, the two share thoughts on business management systems and what they believe these systems will be doing for dealers in the near future.Read More
Conversations in AgChallenges Encountered by Farmers & Manufacturers During the Dairy Downturn
To better understand the manufacturer-dairy farmer relationship, H&S Mfg. Co. President Craig Harthoorn and Product Marketing Manager Ron Zygarlicke sat down with Daryl Sternweis and Heather Heiman (D&B Sternweis Farms) along with Josh Heiman (Heiman Holsteins). The group, all based in Marshfield, Wis. discusses tight budgets, hiring mishaps and rising environmental standards.Read More
Conversations in AgAgriculture Equipment Dealers & Manufacturers Collaborating to Solve Customer Needs
Clayton Camp, President of Kern Machinery and David Rankin, President of Rankin Equipment and Northstar Attachments, discuss the value of the relationship between suppliers and dealers and what makes those relationships work.Read More
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Baltimore Port Closure to Impact High Horsepower Tractor Imports & Exports
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Weasler Engineering, we look at how the Port of Baltimore's closure will alter the flow of high horsepower tractors in and out of the country. In the Technology Corner, Noah Newman talks about some changes coming to drone operation regulations. Also in this episode, Kazakhstan's potential for the North American ag equipment industry and what 2024 holds for the sprayer market.
Top Directory Listings
Yetter Farm Equipment
Built on 90 years of expertise, Yetter Farm Equipment leads the agriculture industry in designing effective and innovative equipment for residue management, seedbed preparation, precision fertilizer placement, harvest attachments, strip-tillage, and more.
Montag Mfg
Montag is the industry’s innovative leader for precise, accurate metering of fertilizer, seed and other nutrients. The Montag system has become the standard for deep banding of fertilizer. Montag is also pioneering the technology for cover crop seed application. The new Cover Crop+ is able to meter the smallest seed, and can be mounted to tillage implements, combines, plus Hagie sprayers and detasselers.
Finance Scope
Finance Scope is able to provide the best financing opportunities for equipment dealers and customers through a diverse mix of lending companies under one single platform. Our large group of lenders, allows for competitive rates regardless of credit scores. Additionally, dealers and customers have access to the industry’s best expertise surrounding finance and lease structures, for all purposes, within the agricultural and construction industries. We provide all of this into one online platform to provide our customers with the best available tailored finance solution for their equipment.