In mid-April, Chris Frodel, Mid-State Equipment (John Deere) drove over from her store to meet in the conference room at Johnson Tractor (Case IH), Leo Johnson’s store. The length of Frodel’s drive on Highway 14 was a full 4 minutes. That’s how close these two dealerships are in the rich agricultural region of Janesville, Wis. Both are second-generation dealers with siblings as partners (Chris runs the business with her brother Bryan and father Curt Hanson, while Leo does the same with brother Eric) and steadily collected additional stores from small-operation origins. Frodel (44) and Johnson (62) also found a lot of similarities and values in their businesses as they dug in for a candid discussion and what the future may look like.

In this episode of the Farm Equipment podcast, “How We Did It: Conversations with Ag Equipment’s Entrepreneurs” brought to you by Ingersoll Tillage, Editor Mike Lessiter met up with the three Hellbusch gents down south to talk about their business’ origins and how they established their business as a name in fertilizer and trailer equipment.

In this bonus episode of the Farm Equipment podcast, “How We Did It: Conversations with Ag Equipment’s Entrepreneurs” brought to you by Ingersoll Tillage, Editor Mike Lessiter invited AgriSolution's Vice President Roger Murdock to discuss the history of Ingersoll and adjusting to changes in the industry.

In this episode of the Farm Equipment podcast, “How We Did It: Conversations with Ag Equipment’s Entrepreneurs” brought to you by Ingersoll Tillage, Editor Mike Lessiter met up with Worksaver's Tom and Tim Burenga in Texas to talk about how their business survived the 1980s and how they transitioned the business from a supplier to farm stores to establishing their own Worksaver brand.

In this episode of the Farm Equipment podcast, “How We Did It: Conversations with Ag Equipment’s Entrepreneurs” brought to you by Ingersoll Tillage, Editor Mike Lessiter travelled to Nebraska to speak with Anthony Montag about how this small family business made the leap from blacksmith style manufacturer to a leader in fertilizer application equipment.