Articles by Mike Lessiter

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Lack of Titling Opens Door to Business Fraud

Former dealer Lee Prunty paid a high price due to a fraudulent situation that he says could’ve been avoided entirely and could ‘still bite someone else again.’ Matthew Larsgaard, dealer association exec, adds his thoughts on lack of titling in farm machinery business.
“Your story should really be about how the sale of any motorized piece of farm equipment should have to have a title,” Lee Prunty told Farm Equipment in an October 2021 phone interview as Farm Equipment revisited the Walterman Implement mess 10 years after its in-depth coverage of how CNH and Titan Machinery unwound the infamous combine roll, bankruptcy and fraud mess left in Dike, Iowa.
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‘A Casualty’ of the Fed’s Prosecution of Leon Walterman

15 years after the unraveling of Walterman Implement, Farm Equipment interviews former Illinois dealer Lee Prunty who was sentenced as part of the landmark suit.
In late 2021, 10 years after its in-depth coverage of the 2005 unraveling of Walterman Implement’s (WI) infamous combine roll, bankruptcy and fraud mess left in Dike, Iowa, Farm Equipment reached out to dealers close to the WI situation in the early 2000s. More than one indicated they didn’t know whether what Lee Prunty, president/CEO of Walker-Schork International (WSI) initially got caught up in with Leon Walterman and WI was illegal — or ignorant.
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Lessiter

Early MVP Votes for Service Managers in ‘22

Several times over the years, attendees of our Dealership Minds Summit (DMS) extended high praise to our editors in foreseeing key challenges 6-9 months in advance and hosting a networking venue to prep them before that topic hit code-red. Among them was our “Succession Planning & Next-Generation Management” for the 2015 DMS and “Used Equipment Remarketing” for 2017.
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Lessiter
To the Point

Unprecedented Times, These Are …

As most of you know, our company also publishes No-Till Farmer (NTF), now in its 50th year (my dad, Frank, has personally edited each edition since 1972). With NTF’s half-century milestone and the 60th anniversary of the first commercial no-till plots in Kentucky in 2022, we’ve been preparing a museum display to bring to Louisville for the 30th National No-Tillage Conference (NNTC) in January.


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Mike Houghtaling P&C Ag Solutions

P&C Ag’s 6 Stages of Adoption for Autonomous Farming Vehicles

Independent dealer shares steps in go-to-market strategy for autonomous farm equipment.

Mike Houghtaling, president and founder of P&C Ag Solutions in Reese, Mich., views adoption of autonomy in six stages. Each stage represents an opportunity for the independent retailer to demonstrate the reliability and necessity for new precision agriculture equipment.


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Updated Report

Survey Shows Year-End Reality for Farmers, Dealers

A survey of farmers & dealers, closed on November 17, reveals a window into what the next 6 weeks will look like as farmers exit the field, meet with their accountants and make year-end purchases.

In this most unusual year of high farm incomes, rising inputs and scarce supply of nearly everything, Farm Equipment and Ag Equipment Intelligence conducted a 48-hour survey from November 15-17 on the year-end situation, which drew 257 growers and 80 dealers.


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The No-Till Planter Race: Did IH Get There Before A-C?

International Harvester appears to have been the first to come to market with a no-till concept planter — 13 years before Allis-Chalmers’ model found commercial success in 1966. But IH exited production just 2 years later after only 23 shipments.
As our staff was delving into research for the “Timeline of No-Till History," ​the No-Till Museum we’ll be bringing to the National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, and an all-new history series planned in 2022 to mark the “triple crown” of no-till milestones, we discovered some mystery over the first no-till planter. And it’s the kind of discovery that’s sure to fuel additional debates.
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Lessiter
To the Point

Rounding the Corner to 2021

Just within the last few weeks, there’s been plenty to keep one’s attention, both in and outside of the farm economy. For a while up until the first debate, even the presidential election seemed to be fighting for attention. Here’s just a few things we’ve been watching as we put together the final edition of 2020.
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