Reynolds Farm Equipment (click here for full article), Atlanta, Ind., has for years provided opportunities for farmers to become more skilled at the equipment they use. More recently, the dealership has expanded on its training practices for its employees.

Mitch Frazier, CEO of Reynolds Farm Equipment, notes there are two big training events for customers every year at the dealer’s flagship store in Atlanta. These events touch on planting and harvest.

“They’ll come here, and so we’re able to attract vendors, we’re able to attract types of educational experiences that you may not be able to get at 7 stores,” he says.

Dennis Nixon, a farmer whose family has been doing business with Reynolds since the 1960s, says that Reynolds Farm Equipment has been holding these training sessions for decades. They’ve proven useful enough to him that he’s been a frequent visitor to the spring and fall training events.

“I’ve gone to a lot of clinics,” he says.

Each store also hosts its own smaller training sessions. These smaller events allow store managers to sit side-by-side with farmers to do things like look over displays or talk about settings together.

“So it’s being able to give both sides of that equation,” says Frazier. “Give them the big, unique experience they couldn’t get somewhere else, but then being able to serve them with that local, hands-on, one-on-one experience.”

In 2017, the dealership launched individual training plans for every employee. These plans are formed based on both John Deere training recommendations and insights from management.

Looking to build upon this training in the future, the company created a post-training survey that tracks training attendance and gathers feedback from trainees.