Early last year a heated debate was instigated by a gentleman who was frustrated by his inability to help his neighbor who was having service and repair issues with his new tractor (“The Next High-Tech Battle in Ag,” Farm Equipment E-Watch, Feb. 10, 2015).
Despite the downturn in the ag economy, the independent judging panel once again had an impressive pool of candidates to choose in naming as this year’s Dealership of the Year recipient. Commenting on the pool of nominees the judges say, “We feel all nominees have done a very good job in profitability in view of the ‘down’ year in agriculture.”
In Little League, coaches tell young players to “keep your eye on the ball.” The advice applies to both fielding and batting, but it is just as applicable to running a successful farm equipment dealership. That’s just what Don Van Houweling, owner of the 2016 Dealership of the Year, has done at Van Wall Equipment.
Walking into the Nevada, Iowa, location of Van Wall Equipment isn’t like walking into any typical farm equipment dealership. The 66,000 square foot facility was built in 2014 and brought the previous ag store in Nevada and a lawn and turf store in Ames together under one roof.
In 2009, Van Wall Equipment expanded its business to include renewable energy after meeting with BTI, a John Deere dealer in central Kansas that was an Endurance Wind distributor.
In the last 3 years, the precision department has grown rapidly at Van Wall Equipment, adding agronomy services in 2014 and crop insurance in 2015, along with the added volume that came with the company’s addition of 11 stores through acquisition since 2014.
The 23-part 2016 Farm Equipment Dealership of the Year video series is sponsored by CDK Global Heavy Equipment, a leading provider of management software for equipment dealerships throughout North America.
The end-user, whether it be the cow or the cattle feeder, is becoming more important to hay and forage producers, and because of that, the equipment in the hay meadow is changing.
Increasing the revenue stream from the sale of precision farming equipment and service in 2016 is expected to remain a significant challenge for North American dealers. At the same time, according to Precision Farming Dealer’s 2016 Benchmark Study, 40% of the total survey respondents are confident that they’ll be able to increase revenue during the current sales year.
It’s a tough situation laying in a hospital bed and realizing the business you’ve spent most of your life building might go away if you’re unable to return to work. In 2008, that was the reality for Earl Livingston of Livingston Machinery in Chickasha, Okla., after he suffered a stroke and wasn’t sure he’d make it back.
In June, the Equipment Dealers Assn. (EDA) released the results of its annual Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey. Through this study, equipment dealers rated the companies whose products they represent on 12 key categories of dealership operations and support.
Farm Equipment asked hay and forage equipment manufacturer Vermeer, Pella, Iowa, to expand on some of the things they’ve been working on in recent years to achieve best-in-class ratings from its global dealer network of 500. Among the ag segments in the Equipment Dealers Assn. 2016 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey (full-line, tractor and shortline manufacturers), Vermeer was the highest rated manufacturer in 6 of the 12 categories.
LS Tractor earned the Dealer’s Choice Award for tractor manufacturers in the 2016 Equipment Dealers Assn.’s annual Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey Report — the second year in a row the company achieved that recognition.
In addition to Vermeer and LS Tractor, 2016;'s Dealer’s Choice recipient for shortline equipment and tractor manufacturers, respectively, Farm Equipment asked the recipients of Equipment Dealer Association’s Gold-Level to report on some of the activities they’ve been undertaking to work toward their award-winning recognition by dealers.
A small family owned hog operation in Pennsylvania is the mastermind behind a rig that sidedresses corn with liquid hog manure and seeds cover crops in one pass — possibly the first machine of its kind in the U.S.
In Part 1, we defined employee engagement as going the extra mile. Companies whose employees are highly engaged produce 300% better financial results, according to Towers Watson’s 2012 Global Workforce Study.
Two years ago in this column, we told you the familiar CJ-4 diesel engine oil category was living on borrowed time as regulators continued to make demands on engine designers to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions. Today, that prediction is reality with a new CK-4 category, announced for a broad range of off-road equipment and light duty diesel powered pickup trucks.
In Little League, coaches tell young players to “keep your eye on the ball.” The advice applies to both fielding and batting, but it is just as applicable to running a successful farm equipment dealership. That’s just what Don Van Houweling, owner of the 2016 Dealership of the Year, has done at Van Wall Equipment.
It’s a tough situation laying in a hospital bed and realizing the business you’ve spent most of your life building might go away if you’re unable to return to work. In 2008, that was the reality for Earl Livingston of Livingston Machinery in Chickasha, Okla., after he suffered a stroke and wasn’t sure he’d make it back.
In June, the Equipment Dealers Assn. (EDA) released the results of its annual Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey. Through this study, equipment dealers rated the companies whose products they represent on 12 key categories of dealership operations and support.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we take an initial look at the Dealer Business Outlook & Trends Report and what dealers are forecasting for 2025.
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.
At Machinery Scope, we believe you deserve the best risk management solutions for your investments in heavy equipment. Since 2013, we have been proud to offer extended warranty, appraisals, and inspections. Machinery Scope is a family-owned business built on our experience in farming and equipment dealerships. We understand your business and provide a personalized and professional level of customer service. Machinery Scope has built a strong warranty product with our customers in mind, offering the same professional level of service from the time you get a quote, through the processing of a claim.
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.