Many food and agriculture workers were deemed a part of the nation’s “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce” by President Trump on March 16. The agriculture community being deemed essential is music to the ears of the thousands of farm equipment dealers across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan.

“Despite the coronavirus problem, business has been Ok for us,” said Brian Kitch, co-owner of Bates Corporation in Bourbon, Ind. “The majority of our business is on the farming side of things and farmers are still feeding their flocks and planning on getting in their fields. We’re here for them.”

Bates Corporation was organized in 1965. The family-owned and operated business started as a livestock trucking company. Today, the business has an international reach as it sells new, used and rebuilt IH tractor parts to a worldwide market via the Internet, telephone and walk-ins.

“Our office and building is closed to the public but customers can still purchase and pick up the parts,” Kitch said. 

“Much of our business is phone and online orders. We’ve seen a real big increase in online orders and we think that’s because people have the time on their hands now, are on the Interned, and looking to fix things that need repaired.”

With restrictions remaining in place for at least another month, farm equipment dealers are becoming creative and encouraging customers to use the phone or their online parts system to get what they need.

It’s business as usual at Polk Equipment, Inc. in Leesburg, Ind. A company spokesman there says “nothing has changed and though the front lobby had been closed we’re selling parts out the door.”

Clay Nuhring, co-owner of Grazing Systems Supply (GSS) in Greensburg, Ind., has seen no slowdown in his business, which deals with forage seeding of all types.

“Farmers have to get in the fields and they have a job to do. So do we,” Nuhring said.

John Mayer, manager at Mayer Agri Equipment in Wilmington, Ohio sees no downturn in his company’s business, which deals with clean, previously used John Deere combines, corn headers, grain platforms and the like.

Kent Holmes, marketing manager at Apple Farm Service, Inc. in Covington, Ohio, says that his company has closed the showrooms of its other three satellite offices (Botkins, Ohio, Mechanicsburg, Ohio, and W. College Corner, Ind.) “yet we’re selling parts out the door.”

“Just last week we closed the showroom doors, but there’s been no slow down in our business,” Holmes said. “All four locations are open and functioning very well, as we normally would. Our customers only come into the business if they have issues that cannot be resolved or there is a part that cannot be found after conversing over the phone.

“The customers have been very understanding. I think they all know that the longer we can go without having any issues with this virus issue the odds are good that we’re going to be there for the farmer when they need us.”

All five business managers say they are busy cleaning their store locations and even the parts before they are given to customers. More importantly, they say, customers have been understanding during these rather odd circumstances.

“It’s been a bit different,” Holmes added, “taking orders by phone and putting them outside, but the customers are not bothered by it one bit. For the ag community it must be business as usual.”