Steve Berger, a fourth-generation grain and hog producer in southeast Iowa, sat down with Ken Zuckerberg, then a senior research analyst in New York with Rabobank. The conversation provided Zuckerberg, who sees the industry from the perspective of a financial analyst, a chance to go eyeball-to-eyeball with a person in the trenches farming every day in Berger, a 2016 No-Till Innovator of the Year. The talk happened in the lobby at the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville.

Kentucky grain producer Joe Sisk and Jeff Morgan, H&R Agri-Power (Case IH dealer) share views into each other’s world and why they have not yet consummated a high-ticket deal for Sisk’s 5,000-acre operation, which remains 100% green on combines and tractors. As soon as they sat down, Sisk (45) reminded Morgan (53) that he’d been his tractor engine instructor in 4H 33 years earlier. Morgan remembered the class and the curriculum (“intake, compression, power and exhaust”) but hadn’t realized Sisk had been in the class.

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.

Richins & Finley, the managers heading up the precision farming efforts at Stotz Equipment (John Deere) and Mazergroup (New Holland), share the components of their internal training systems to equip staff for success.

Part 6: In the final installment of this Farm Equipment series, Case IH executives share a forward-looking view of their network of tomorrow, and how they can help dealers who wish to consolidate.

Part 5: Case IH established a dealer best practices group to open dialog on what works — and doesn’t — in hopes of raising the tide for the entire red network.