Washington Tractor, a 12-store John Deere dealership in Washington, has released its latest customer video as part of a 3-year branding campaign. The dealership started the video series in January 2016. Curt Maberry Farm in Lynden, Wash., is the latest customer to be featured.
Curt Maberry Farm has grown from 21 acres devoted to strawberries in 1944 to just under 1,000 acres today. Now owned and operated by the fourth generation of the same family, the farm has added raspberries and blueberries as crops, and the farm still grows, processes and markets all its own fruit, according to Matt Maberry, owner-operator.
Procedures have changed over the years to embrace new technology, says Field Manager Arlen Bergsma. He acknowledges the role that Washington Tractor plays in supplying the right equipment at the right time to meet the planting, harvesting and general needs of the farm. He also notes that Washington Tractor has a "grower first mentality; they're very good to us, they deliver."
Both Maberry and Bergsma add that technology "plays a big role," and the symbiotic relationship between the farm and the equipment company allows both to prosper. Washington Tractor, like Maberry Farm, is a family-oriented business, growing since 2010 from three separate family-owned businesses into today's 12-location enterprise, with 5 owner families and an even-greater dedication to serving local communities.
Both the berry farmer and the John Deere dealership strive to maintain the relationships that will "last for a lifetime," as Maberry puts it. He notes that specialty equipment is a requirement; it is more "vineyard style," designed or modified to meet the need for machinery that can be used in narrow rows and tight spaces.
But it's not only the large equipment and compact tractors that Washington Tractor is known for. It's the utility equipment, including chain saws, pressure washers and utility equipment, that they have ready and available for all needs. Mostly, however, notes Bergsma, it's the integrity, the honor and the trust displayed by Washington Tractor, that "we respect." Without them, adds Maberry, "We'd have a difficult time meeting the quality standards that we live up to."