In this episode of the Farm Equipment podcast, “Our Dealer Story” brought to you by HBS Systems, we feature Champlain Valley Equipment, a Vermont New Holland dealership. Associate Research Editor Ben Thorpe sat down with second generation owner Brian Carpenter during the Dealership Minds Summit.

In 2013, the signs of a looming collapse were becoming clear. In Farm Equipment, Dr. Jim Weber had been writing a series titled “The Business of Selling.” An article from the series “Gathering Storm Clouds” was posted in July 2013. I am paraphrasing but, in the article, Dr. Weber talks about low return on sales, dealerships dependence on volume and market share payments. Because of the low returns, dealerships should have been failing in droves. But because of record high commodity prices, record low interest rates and record on-farm income, dealerships were able to spike margins with new and used wholegoods.

In 2013, the signs of a looming collapse were becoming clear. In Farm Equipment, Dr. Jim Weber had been writing a series titled “The Business of Selling.” An article from the series “Gathering Storm Clouds” was posted in July 2013. I am paraphrasing but, in the article, Dr. Weber talks about low return on sales, dealerships dependence on volume and market share payments. Because of the low returns, dealerships should have been failing in droves. But because of record high commodity prices, record low interest rates and record on-farm income, dealerships were able to spike margins with new and used wholegoods.

What I’ve got is a kitchen table education. I come from a long line of wholegoods managers. A lot of you know my dad, Roy. I presented the following ideas to him in 2005 when things were a mess.

There is cash in used iron, and for most farm equipment dealers that pre-owned inventory represents the path to the overall health and lifeblood of their business. Dr. Jim Weber, a 40-year veteran consultant and trainer in the farm and construction equipment industry, says an on-going survey of large volume dealers in Canada shows used equipment turn rates — and corresponding positive cashflow rates — have fallen by about a third since 2012 as many dealers have been busy selling new equipment, with wholegood transactions averaging 81-82% of their dealership’s total sales.

“I don’t dwell on mistakes but instead look forward on how best to improve my business.