55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat By Bill Whitman Several months ago, I mentioned a dairy in the northern part of the thumb of Michigan in their third year of litigation with their local dealership – a local dealership that had been purchased by a dealership group in Kentucky. That same dairy is now in the 4th year of litigation and finally, yes finally, received permission from the court to take the tractor apart and see what the problem is. It’s important to know that after spending tens of thousands of dollars to have this tractor repaired it was returned to the dairy, repaired but inoperable. Inoperable because it had a terrible noise coming from the rearend. The dealership declined to take it back and fix it right, refused to refund the dairy’s money, and has legally denied any responsibility since. As the legal process has snailed along, frivolous arguments have been made as to why the tractor couldn’t be taken apart (to find out what’s wrong with it), and the dairy has been forced to put four seasons of crops in without their workhorse. With all the problems facing today’s farmers, it seems to me that the one place we shouldn’t have to worry about is the service we receive from equipment dealerships we have worked with for decades. I have long advocated that someone on your farm must have a working knowledge of your equipment and general equipment repair. Fifty plus years ago, we learned it in Vo-Ag class in high school. Today, I’m not sure where we expect our kids to learn it. Granted, our children’s expertise with video games will probably be helpful as our farms trend toward AI but someone will always have to deal with the mechanics required of all the different equipment we have. More importantly, our equipment manufacturers must do two things, hold the dealerships to the standard of service necessary to keep us operating, and help the dealerships find a new way to absorb the expense of unprofitable years other than putting it on the backs of farmers. This has reached a critical stage in agriculture and requires attention immediately. I see all sorts of advertising being done talking about manufacturers being team members with our farms, but I see few examples. I was talking with an attorney recently who was explaining the legal process of litigation to me. My comment in return is that farmers are a different breed. First, we want honesty, and secondly, we expect people to do what they are paid to do. I hear all the time businesspeople saying that agriculture must conform to the new American models of agri-business. I’ve heard this as related to risk management being applied to feedyards, dairies, ranches and grain farms. I can accept, even embracing the concept but it cannot be so rigid that adjustments can’t be made in times of emergencies. Wondering what the forensic engineers and mechanics found in the dairy’s tractor? Pinion shaft was shattered, two gears for a different model tractor were installed, and oops, a 12-inch punch was left in the rearend sump. What upsets me the most is not that mistakes were made. What upsets me is that a dealership used a lawsuit to delay accepting responsibility while a good and loyal (to the manufacture) dairy had to rob Peter and pay Paul just to last long enough to see justice served. I might add that in this case, the owner is fighting cancer. Horse Sense: Good thing my horse is smarter than I am. Wouldn’t be alive today if he wasn’t. IndianaAg@bluemarble.net |
