The most viewed content for 2023 on our website, www.rurallifestyledealer.com, highlights industry updates, manufacturer news and trends in the rural lifestyle equipment market. As we enter the new year, we wanted to share the most popular content from 2023.

With all of the news gathered, responses and interviews collected, countless hours of writing and Audio Visual production (AV) production, we made this year one to remember. More importantly, we made all of this year’s content for you! The following aren’t items we thought were the best of this year— These are the best of the year according to our audience. The Digital Media Department hunkered down in a caffeine-induced frenzy and compiled the ‘can’t miss’ content from 2023.

Most Read Blogs:

  • It's Time to Sunset Surcharges By Mark J. Sheffield
    • During COVID, freight surcharges in the powersports industry moved forward with lightning speed. First it was on vehicles, then parts, and then on everything. While these costs may have had some legitimacy during the height of the pandemic, this “cure” is now killing business for dealers as the costs were never rescinded and continue to be passed on to consumers.
  • Keep the Majors Out of Electric Tractors? By Mike Lessiter
    • We know your equipment customers, especially the rural lifestyler types, like to match colors of their small implements around their homesteads and are often willing to pay a premium for the aesthetics. But before you ask your majors to come with a true green, red, blue electric tractor for your rural lifestyle customers, consider the Aug. 26-27, 2023 Wall Street Journal article by Holman Jenkins Jr.
  • Tragedy’s Reminder for Today’s Dealer By Mike Lessiter
    • The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently revisited a most painful and heartbreaking story of a tragic accident that occurred on a Wisconsin dairy farm in the summer of 2019 (“Death on a Dairy Farm…”). The details are too heart-wrenching to detail here. But the short of it was that an 8-year-old son of an immigrant farm laborer was killed in a skid-steer loader accident.
  • Basketball’s Lessons: ‘That Which Gets Measured Gets Moved’ By Mike Lessiter
    • Ultimately, with the help of Lessiter Media's Executive Editor Kim Schmidt and Production Manager Christopher Nielsen, we returned to an old-school tracking system of every job order, a visible posting of our on-time performance, and new disciplines and accountabilities that had slipped over time. And it was a big success in efficiency and was morale-boosting, and will eliminate a penalty to everyone’s profit-sharing results.
  • How to Fit Rocks in a Jar By Carlos Peterson
    • Now would be a great time to apply the concept of “rocks” to your business, and no, I don’t mean igneous or granite. “Rocks” are the most important 3-7 things that must be accomplished for your business every quarter. They could make the difference in moving your dealership in the direction it should be headed.

Most Read Tim Brannon Blogs:

  • Confessions of an Allis-Chalmers ‘Tech-Man’, Part 1
    • Allis-Chalmers pioneered a marketing program during the 1970s using a medium that was designed specifically to secure the attention of the “male” North American agriculturist. It used a troupe of “Expo Gals” to promote Allis-Chalmers farm equipment.
  • My Days as an OEM ‘Blockman’
    • Nearly 50 years ago, Tim Brannon was a “blockman,” later changed to territory manager or TM. The term “blockman” came from 2 things: #1 there were no females in the business and #2, the company put dealers in groups or blocks and assigned a salesman to organize inventory and assist dealers in retailing the products we obtained a T49 for. 
  • When Someone 'Moves the Keys' On Your Dealership
    • Recently, there was a court ruling about ‘Right to Repair’ or R2R as it applies to farm equipment. The new court ruling gives owners the ‘right’ to repair, but will they have the ‘ability’ and at what cost? To think that some of the high-tech customers have not already dabbled in the software of the farm equipment that uses such, would be very naïve.
  • Right vs. Ability to 'Repair'
    • My sales engineer (who is an engineer and computer geek) had us up and running in 2 weeks in terms of communication, internet and all online capabilities. Our parts manager along with our suppliers had us stocked and at about 95% capacity in 4 weeks. They are making an old man who thought the world had ended find some new joys in the farm implement business.
  • Idiocracy: Our Industry’s Dependence on China
    • Cat, AGCO, Deere, Case, New Holland, Kubota and others all have plants and holdings in China. You can see the possibility of things going south here with a shooting or non-shooting war with China. We need leadership to stop the war with Russia. Ukraine should negotiate an easement for Russia to have access to a port on its southern border.

Most Read Feature Articles:

  • 7 Tips for Building & Buying New Dealerships By Ben Thorpe
    • Jeremy Gantt, principal at 3-store Louisiana Kubota dealer Bayou Kubota, chose to grow. Since 2019, Gantt has overseen the building of one new location and the acquisition of a third and has learned along the way what to do and what not to do. Based on his experience, Gantt offers a series of tips for other dealers who find themselves in his position and how to ensure the success of their growth.
  • Oregon Tool’s New CEO Talks Dealer Development, Preparing for 2024 By Ben Thorpe
    • In June, Oregon Tool announced the appointment of a new CEO: its then-COO Elliot Zimmer. The company, which manufacturers the Woods Equipment implement and Oregon outdoor power equipment product lines, had Zimmer succeed former CEO Paul Tonnesen, who stayed on as an advisor to the company’s board.
  • Proven Power Gets Creative to Boost Aftermarket Business By Ben Thorpe
    • For Andy Flint, his career in the equipment industry is a far cry from his first job: running a country club restaurant at 16. During his years as a chef, he catered for the governor of Wisconsin and the princess of Thailand in a cutthroat, fast-paced environment. He says it taught him soft skills that he now uses as the general manager of 2-store Wisconsin John Deere dealership Proven Power.
  • With ‘Historic’ in the Rearview, Dealers Prep for More ‘Realistic’ 2023 By Gregg Wartgow
    • According to the results of Rural Lifestyle Dealer’s annual dealer survey, the crack in rural lifestyle dealer optimism that emerged last year has widened a bit more. Just 27% of dealers anticipate whole-foods sales growth in 2023, compared to 33% and 56% in each of the 2 previous years. At the same time, 58% of dealers are anticipating a down year in 2023, compared to just 32% a year ago.
  • 5 Questions With Kress' David Johnson By Ben Thorpe
    • In this installment of our 5 Questions With… series, we sat down with Positec USA Executive Vice President David “DJ” Johnson to discuss the company’s Kress brand of all-electric outdoor power equipment and why it chose Spring 2023 as the time to enter the U.S. market. Kress’ product lineup includes robotic lawnmowers, leaf blowers and chainsaws.

Most Read News Articles:

  • Briggs & Stratton to Discontinue Simplicity and Snapper Tractors, Zero-Turns in North America By Ben Thorpe
    • Briggs & Stratton has cut staff and announced the departure of its power business unit President Brian Hazelton, according to a Sept. 15 report from The Milwaukee Business Journal.
  • Bobcat Rumored to Enter Compact Articulated Tractor Market By Ben Thorpe
    • At the manufacturer’s dealer meeting on March 8, 2022, Bobcat of Toronto posted 4 photos to their Instagram account of a compact articulated tractor branded as the Bobcat AT2025. The post’s caption reads: “Another cool reveal at the #Bobcat Dealer Meeting was the concept for the new Bobcat AT2025 articulated compact tractor.”
  • Toro & Lowe's Announce Strategic Partnership
    • The Toro Company and Lowe's Companies, Inc. today announced a strategic retail partnership through which Lowe's will carry Toro zero-turn riding mowers, walk mowers, portable power equipment and snow blowers in both the gas and rapidly expanding battery categories.
  • Generac Sued for $44 Million by Supplier
    • Generac has been sued by one of its suppliers, Spartronics out of Williamsport, Penn., in state and federal courts for $44 million over a supply of generator parts. According to a June 12 report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Spartronics claims that Generac "forced" the company to pre-order supplies and parts during the pandemic and then later refused to pay when sales fell below forecasts.
  • Mahindra Introduces New OJA Tractors
    • Mahindra Tractors launched its future-ready range of tractors on Aug. 15 – the Mahindra OJA – at Mahindra Future Scape, an event held in Cape Town, South Africa. Derived from the Sanskrit word “Ojas”, meaning Powerhouse of Energy, the OJA range of models is Mahindra’s most ambitious global tractor program.

Most Viewed Videos:

  • A Close Look at Honda's New Autonomous Work Mower
    • At this year's Equip Expo, Honda introduced its all-electric prototype Honda Autonomous Work Mower (AWM), the company’s first battery-powered electric zero-turn riding. Principal Engineer at American Honda Motor Co. Jason VanBuren gave us a close look at this new machine.
  • When Selling Parts on eBay Goes Too Well
    • Proven Power has a unique problem at the moment, according to General Manager Andy Flint: their eBay store is bringing in too much business. The goal is to have the store back online this spring since the revenue potential is significant. Flint says the dealership brought in $80,000 in annual revenue last year through its eBay store, “without even knowing what we’re doing.”
  • Growing a Winter Storage Program
    • Back in 2016, Rural Lifestyle Dealer sat down with Proven Power President Bill Brooks to discuss the dealership’s winter storage program as a way to build off-season revenue. Today, General Manager Andy Flint says the program has grown significantly, from only a handful of machines in its first season in 1997 (when the dealership first opened) to nearly 900 in 2022.
  • Generating Winter Revenue Through a Holiday Parts Sale
    • One of the Proven Power’s recent aftermarket successes was an employee-led winter parts sales program born out of a weekly team meeting discussion. General Manager Andy Flint says Proven Power targeted its top customers at the end of 2022 with texts advertising a 15% off coupon code for parts and ultimately netted $100,000 out of the process.
  • [Video] Solectrac Exec Confirms Search for New Investor
    • Solectrac, a manufacturer of electric tractors based out of Santa Rosa, Calif., has been declared as “assets held for sale” by its parent company, Ideanomics. A global electric vehicle company, Ideanomics, said in its second quarter earnings filed Aug. 4 that 4 of its subsidiaries, including Solectrac, had met the criteria to be classified as assets held for sale.