An all-new website version of Farm Equipment has debuted at www.farm-equipment.com

While Farm Equipment editors steadily evolved the site that debuted when the magazine was acquired by Lessiter Publications in 2004, Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter says the newly implemented electronic offering better supports the mission of delivering “Successful Strategies for Dealers” — in whatever media the dealer wants.

“One of the greatest advantages of the new system is the new content management tool, which will arm our editors and field correspondents with the ability to post breaking news and other up-to-the-minute content with greater efficiency,” says Lessiter.

“Dealers will see a direct benefit in the delivery of more real-time, actionable business information.”

According to Lessiter, the major investment in the new web site and the full-time personnel to drive it signals Farm Equipment’s commitment to delivering exclusive, must-have information tailored specifically for equipment dealers. It’s also a recognition that the information-sourcing preferences within the ag market are evolving.

Readers and website viewers will see a number of new improvements this month, including:

• Video Content. Some content is best shared by seeing it in action, or hearing the first-person account of a dealership’s key successes or lessons learned. The newly established “Farm Equipment TV,” consisting of personal dealer interviews as well as “Supply-Side: Views from Ag Equipment Leaders” and “Equipment Demos-in-Action,” will benefit from a far more robust platform for helping dealers better see and hear practical ideas from benchmark-worthy subjects.

• Online Offering. A more comprehensive array of current feature articles, departments, columns and videos will now also be available online, allowing registered users to source the information they need via the media they prefer — whether it’s in the print magazine, the web site, the RSS feed or the bimonthly E-WATCH e-mail newsletter.

• Archived Content. Feature articles will now be archived electronically, allowing registered users the ability to reference a particular market-trend, dealer-profile or how-to-sell article years from now. The bimonthly E-WATCH will also now offer archived capabilities.

• Commentary & Community. For the first time, readers may leave comments about any and all posted content, allowing a discussion and exchange on key industry topics, and specific knowledge that can be shared among dealers in any part of the country.

• Social Bookmarking. Readers can now share Farm Equipment information with their business associates, customers and friends through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and more.

To take better advantage of these improvements, we’d like readers to register their profile on our new web site. It only takes a few minutes.

“The investment in the web site was made to help our readers keep up with the ever-increasing speed of doing business,” says Paul Markgraff, Lessiter Publications’ IT manager, who oversaw the development of the new site, along with Farm Equipment editors and a cross-functional team of Lessiter Publications staffers representing marketing, circulation, design and advertising.