A Look Back on Farm Equipment History

A New Association of ‘Shortliners’ Takes Flight — 75 Years Ago

mlessiter@lesspub.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Before 1950, the nearest thing to an organization of “allied” ag equipment manufacturers were those who voluntarily contributed to an annual host party for members of the Farm Equipment Wholesalers Association (FEWA) at its Fall meeting.

Looking Back: Farm Equipment Tips the Hat to the Behind-the-Scenes Contribution of An Industry Exec

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

The Farm Equipment Staff and I had the pleasure of seeing the official sendoff celebration for retiring EMDA Executive Vice President Pat Collins on November 2, 2023 at the FEMA-EMDA Convention in Kansas City.

Looking Back: Inaugural Cover Story Dealer, 20 Years Later

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:31:00 -0400

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since you wrote your 1st cover story on our business, AES, in Farm Equipment.

Looking Back: From Dreaming Farm Boy to Equipment Dealer

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 08:25:00 -0400

This toddler started in the sandbox pushing toy tractors around in my first “farming” enterprise. The toy tractors would later turn into real ones and all through school days the library had a well-worn path to the magazine section.

Looking Back: 40 Years with Sunco, Hiniker, Ingersoll, Southern Marketing & Forges de Niaux

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Over the years and my terms of employment with Sunco Marketing, Hiniker Company, Ingersoll Products Company, Southern Marketing Affiliates and now Forges de Niaux I have placed a significant number of ads in Farm Equipment magazine.

Looking Back: Export Opportunities Changed Game for Canadian Shortline Manufacturer

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The advertising options you bring to us – a Shortline Manufacturer of Rotary Cutters, Rock Removal Equipment, Snow Removal equipment and Disc Harrows – has become a one-stop shop for advertising to our U.S. customers for more 15 years or more.

Looking Back: My 35 Years at RME, from Microfiche to Guidance

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

I just celebrated my 35^th anniversary in the Ag equipment industry. I started in parts and remember looking up parts for customers on Micro Fiche.

Looking Back: GMO, Autosteer Forever Changed Our Business

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Fifty years ago, success depended on product, availability and location. These are all still very important. However, today the human resources a dealership has, how they are empowered, how they are rewarded, and the level of commitment to customer satisfaction is the key.

Looking Back: Farm Equipment Manufacturers and the Early 1980s Farm Crisis

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Just after the Russian grain embargo in 1980, the prime lending rate soared from an average of 6.8% in 1976 to an all-time high of 21.5% in 1981 and farm debt for land and equipment purchases soared.

Looking Back: ‘I Didn’t Listen to My Uncle Roy’

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

When looking back on the last half-century, here are a few moments that forever changed the way dealers like us do business.

Looking Back: Vast Technology Changes Assisted Dealers’ Computerization

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

I was the founder of Basic Software Systems when it started in January of 1979. Since then, many changes have been made. The most drastic way that running our business has changed is in the technology that has taken place.

Looking Back: 60 Years of Equipment Dealer Associations Consolidation Continues

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) was founded on September 20, 1900, and has since been in continuous operation. Today, NAEDA is one of North America’s oldest retail trade associations.

Looking Back on ‘A New-Era Contract’

mlessiter@lesspub.com — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

This year marks 55 years of Farm Equipment magazine and 20 years of ownership by our family-run company, Lessiter Media. Below is my first column (“A New-Era Contract”), from the August/September 2004 edition, written weeks after acquiring the magazine.

Looking Back: Today’s Staff Has No-Fear Approach to Risk, But It Still Exists

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In regard to the changes over the past 55 years, the brand and manufacturer consolidation has been the most impactful. This timeline takes us back to and through the consolidation decades.

Looking Back: 45 Years of Observations on Ag Equipment Manufacturing & Distribution

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The single driving force of equipment changes and farming practices is the reduction of farmhands to perform the necessary functions from site prep, planting, harvest and the raw material transportation to buyers.

Looking Back: From 3 Stores Within 50 Miles to 25 Stores Across 8 States

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

From a dealer perspective, the change in scale has been the biggest change. When my dad ran our business, we were just three stores – all within 50 miles.

Looking Back: Titan Machinery Reflects on Significant Changes to Dealership Environment in 55 Years

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Our parts and service businesses are now running as profit centers rather than a dealership expense. In 1975, our shop rate was $17.50/hour with a real reluctance to raise. Now most shop rates are north of $140/hour.

Looking Back: Left Major OEM Career 55 Years Ago to Become Dealer-Principal

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

I resigned from my career with International Harvester (IH) to buy a dealership 55 years ago, in 1968. Nineteen years later, I sold both following the Case IH merger. I had too much red in my blood to stay.

Looking Back: Not Your Grandfather’s Farm Equipment Dealership…

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Farmers are increasingly creating most of their planting/harvesting strategy with data-driven decisions that rely on sophisticated business platforms that collect data to analyze and make educated and informed decisions.

Looking Back: Business Acumen, Technology Forever Changed Equipment Sales & Service

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Running a business today vs 33 years ago when I took over; the average level of professionalism has grown significantly.

Looking Back: A Lot of Change in Shortline Equipment

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Back in the 1980s, when I started in equipment sales in Ontario, Canada it was a tough time for farmers because interest rates were 23% as compared to today’s rates at 7-9%.

Looking Back: A North American, International & Company-Store Dealer Exec

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:18:52 -0400

I have been reading, learning and engaged with Farm Equipment (FE) Magazine for more than 30 years. FE is always the “go-to” source when you want to see what is going on and when you want to share exciting news with your friends in the industry.

Looking Back: RDO Equipment’s Take on the Last 55 Years

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In some ways, the dealer’s business is completely different; in others, it’s entirely the same. It’s all about the people who farm the land.

Looking Back: Digital Communications Changed the Course of OEMs Working With Dealers

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

A defining moment came at different times for different businesses, but it eventually came to everyone and then it was adopted quickly.

Looking Back: The ‘5 Greatest Tech Advancements’ in My Career as a Dealer

leo.johnson@machineryadvisors.org — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Back in the late 1970s when I started in the retail farm equipment industry, Implement and Tractor was the go-to magazine to see what was happening on the cutting edge.

Looking Back: The Impact of Consolidation & Technology on Agriculture Over Half a Century

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

When I think about the biggest changes in the industry over the last 55 years, 2 things come to mind: consolidation and technology.

Looking Back: A Service Manager’s View on the Changing Times

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 08:43:49 -0400

Having been in the ag business since 1975, I have seen so much change I really don’t know where to start.

Looking Back: Reflections on Farm Equipment

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The Big Dealer Report has become the “go-to” resource for understanding the consolidation in farm equipment dealerships and the changes required for scale to be successful.

Looking Back: Farm Equipment Sales in the 1970s

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:39:28 -0400

I grew up on a small farm and had other family members who were farming much larger farms, so I felt right at home in the industry. It did not take long for me to understand that the best job in the company was calling on farm equipment dealers, and that is where I wanted to be.

Timeline of Ag Equipment ‘Firsts’

lessitef@lesspub.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Man has used his ingenuity to develop and perfect the tools needed to feed and clothe himself.