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Farm Equipment

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July/August 2017

Volume: 55

Edition: 6

2017 Dealership of the Year, Valley Truck & Tractor, Ellens Equipment

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

To The Point: Make Room for Creative Destruction

By Mike Lessiter posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Manufacturer News

Reflecting on the Dealership of the Year Alumni Group, and the manufacturer rankings, it’s clear that best in industry achievements don’t happen by accident. Rather, they get into the conversation of “best” through a refusal to be mediocre, or “good enough to get by.” One can argue a company can’t get there unless it first engages in honest self-reflection, with a well-polished mirror.
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13th Annual Awards Program Recognizes Industry’s Top Dealers

Valley Truck & Tractor & Ellens Equipment earned the industry’s top honors as Farm Equipment’s 2017 Dealership of the Year.

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices

Now in its fourth year, the downturn in the ag economy has presented farm equipment dealers with numerous challenges. But, the best of the best have risen to the occasion and found ways to face those challenges head on.
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Dealership of the Year 2017: Valley Truck & Tractor

By Dave Kanicki posted on July 15, 2017

Losing the contract of their major supplier has spelled the end for a lot of farm equipment dealers over the years. For Valley Truck & Tractor just such an incident turned into “the” defining moment that has seen the business grow and prosper into a 9 store dealership group and to be named as Farm Equipment’s 2017 Dealership of the Year in the over $75 million in annual revenues category.
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Dealership of the Year 2017: Ellens Equipment, McBain, Mich.

By Kim Schmidt posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance, Department Management

What do you get when the son of the local New Holland dealer marries the daughter of the local Case IH dealer? While this sounds like the start to a bad joke, it’s actually the foundation of the Ellens Equipment ownership team, a couple who knows a thing or two about running a successful dealership and who treats the business like another one of their children (including knowing when it’s time to let them spread their wings).
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Wide Swath Haying Revisited

Fifteen years of application show wide swath haying improves stored forage quality and can boost feeding efficiency. Equipment builders have responded with mowers to do the job.

By Dan Crummett posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Product Innovations & Introductions, Niche Equipment Markets

In June 2003, Tom Kilcer and his New York Extension Service colleagues tested their wide swath hay-in-a-day concept by putting it to a test in a soggy alfalfa field after an overnight shower dropped 0.033 inches of rain and left the meadow soaked with free-standing water.
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2017 Equipment Dealers Assn. Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey

Few Surprises at the Top, But Changes Afoot Among the Challengers

For the 2nd time, Farm Equipment magazine analyzes EDA’s annual survey ranking ag equipment manufacturers on the criteria that equipment dealers say matters most.

By Mike Lessiter posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Data & Forecasts, Manufacturer News

In early 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 11 key categories of dealership operations and support.
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People & Profits

Formulate a Short & Simple ‘Tailgate Talk’

By George Russell and Erik Thompson posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices

Great leaders simplify their messages. As a dealership leader, are your messages the most powerful? Think of Ronald Reagan, often called the Great Communicator, and some of his famous messages. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” at the Berlin Wall. Or after the Challenger disaster, “They touched the face of God.” The title of his biography by his speech writer Peggy Noonan says it best — Simply Speaking.

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Ahead of the Curve

EU Stage V Will Require DPF on All Off-Road Diesels

By Dan Crummett posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Product Innovations & Introductions, Manufacturer News

U.S. engine builders will have to comply with Stage V for engines sold in Europe, but the days of rubber stamping European regulations may be over at EPA.
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Featured Articles

Featured Articles

13th Annual Awards Program Recognizes Industry’s Top Dealers

Valley Truck & Tractor & Ellens Equipment earned the industry’s top honors as Farm Equipment’s 2017 Dealership of the Year.

By Farm Equipment Staff Report posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices

Now in its fourth year, the downturn in the ag economy has presented farm equipment dealers with numerous challenges. But, the best of the best have risen to the occasion and found ways to face those challenges head on.
Read More

Wide Swath Haying Revisited

Fifteen years of application show wide swath haying improves stored forage quality and can boost feeding efficiency. Equipment builders have responded with mowers to do the job.

By Dan Crummett posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Product Innovations & Introductions, Niche Equipment Markets

In June 2003, Tom Kilcer and his New York Extension Service colleagues tested their wide swath hay-in-a-day concept by putting it to a test in a soggy alfalfa field after an overnight shower dropped 0.033 inches of rain and left the meadow soaked with free-standing water.
Read More

2017 Equipment Dealers Assn. Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey

Few Surprises at the Top, But Changes Afoot Among the Challengers

For the 2nd time, Farm Equipment magazine analyzes EDA’s annual survey ranking ag equipment manufacturers on the criteria that equipment dealers say matters most.

By Mike Lessiter posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues, Data & Forecasts, Manufacturer News

In early 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 11 key categories of dealership operations and support.
Read More
Online Extras
Online Extras
Online Extras: July/August 2017 Issue

July 15, 2017

Web-exclusive content for this issue includes:

Improving Efficiency & Costs in the Parts & Service Departments

New Facility Helps Ellens Equipment Grow

Participating in 20 Group Keeps Ellens Equipment Accountable

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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.

Machinery Scope

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

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.

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