55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat

By Bill Whitman 

 Unlike so many generational farmers who are experiencing their first serious belt tightening and lack of real income, many of my generation remember when inflation – real inflation in the late ’70s and early ’80s – brought out the worst of so many.

Fast forward to now. For many years we had purchased “good” used equipment from a used equipment dealer a few miles north of us. We dealt with them because if we purchased something from them, and something wasn’t right, it was made right. I attribute much of their success to that attitude. I know that we personally sent them a lot of big sales because they stood by their equipment. Last year, we made a major purchase from them that we found had hydraulic problems. When we called the manager that we have dealt with for years, he had a plan of how they would make it right. Unfortunately, the owners of the business felt that it was time to enforce the tail-light guarantee provision on the receipt. It wound up costing us a great deal of money and I have found that several others have now experienced similar treatment. Our long-time friend and manager left his job of many years because of conflicts with the owners about how they were now treating customers.

You may think sour grapes. Probably. But it makes me think back to a different time when I saw dealer after dealer fail. One piece of advice I would make today is that you go through every purchase carefully and even if you have a long-standing relationship with the seller, take nothing for granted.

I want to suggest to these farm-related businesses who are feeling pressure from the economy that farmers and ranchers are of a different breed. We are loyal to those who are loyal to us, much like our neighbors. We understand that dealers are under pressure from either major cash investments into inventory or debt pressure for the same. Gosh, that’s something farmers and ranchers do every year, so welcome to the club.

One thing that we’re already seeing, especially in new equipment dealerships, is mergers or takeovers. I know of two large acquisitions in the past year in Illinois and Ohio. This brings a period of adjustment for customers as they get acclimated to new staff and new policies. As an aside, one of saddest things I’ve seen personally is the new owners are pulling back from supporting local 4-H and FFA events and county fairs. I know a local major brand manager in southern Indiana who was told that he could spend $500 at the local county fair, to which he responded that they would be better off spending nothing. Under previous owners, they spent an average of $7,500 and received a great deal of recognition and appreciation. In another county, another acquired dealership which had supplied demo tractors to the local fair for decades was instructed to not participate in future fairs.

See the problem? These businesses no longer have a close connection with their communities and consequently, their customers. Some managers, in another state, make decisions on how the dealership will handle warranty, service and pricing. I know of a family that purchased two Series 9 combines last spring and had failures of a major component of the combine in both units during harvest. The part was not available locally and a family member drove 600 miles round trip to get the part from another dealer. I was shocked that the dealership who sold a million and a half dollars in combines couldn’t find or wouldn’t provide a driver to provide this most basic of services. During the harvest, the dealership expected the farmers to wait two-three days while they had the part shipped in. So, my point is made clearer, just because you spend huge amounts of money on this equipment, do not expect these big dealerships to extend courtesies you have probably received in the past.

I may sound like a broken record, but I still advocate for using quality equipment that is used and learning to maintain it at a fraction of the cost of new in tight years. Yes, you must budget for repairs that may be covered under warranty otherwise but at the end of the day, isn’t it the bottom line we’re looking at?

Unlike prior generations who learned mechanics in high school vo-ag, later generations find themselves lacking the ability to do anything beyond basic maintenance. To these folks I suggest that you find an equipment repair business such as we have close to us. BJ Biltz is a college-educated engineer who found himself downsized out of a job a few years ago and embraced the idea of fulfilling a dream to farm. To help with farm costs, he has started Precision Ag Machinery Repair in the big town of New Hope, Ind. I have watched as he has worked on all kinds of equipment and doesn’t quit until it’s fixed properly. What really impressed me is that he calls a few days after he’s completed repairs and asks if everything is operating OK. If there is a young person in your area with a similar interest, encourage and support them. I guarantee it will pay off in spades in the days and years to come.

IndianaAg@bluemarble.net