Like a lot of dealers, the uncertainty of the political climate and the on-going tech shortage are top of mind for Barry Walling, store manager in Jasper, Ala., for TriGreen Equipment, a 28-store John Deere dealership with locations throughout Tennessee and Alabama. Walling discussed the dealership’s role in the community, the technician shortage in North America and its goals for 2025.
Powering Agriculture and Industry Across Tennessee and Alabama
TriGreen Equipment formed in 2006 following a merger between several independent John Deere dealers in the Tennessee Alabama region. Today, TriGreen has 28 John Deere dealerships throughout Tennessee and Alabama. In addition to John Deere agriculture and turf equipment, TriGreen also carries Stihl outdoor power equipment and John Deere home and workshop products.
Jasper, located in Walker County, is historically known for its coal mines. In the 1800s, the town brought in thousands of workers to support the booming industry. According to the Geological Survey of Alabama, coal has been mined commercially in 21 northern Alabama counties for more than 150 years.
Hay and cattle, along with coal, are the prominent industries which drive customers, most from Fayette County, to the dealership. “At our store, we’re more into mowing, including commercial mowing,” according to Walling. “We also switch gears and do a lot of hay,” he adds, noting that cattle is a very large area of activity in the regions the dealership serves.
Overcoming Tech Shortages
TriGreen Equipment provides opportunities for students at Northwest Mississippi Community College and South Georgia Tech to gain firsthand experience in the dealerships while earning an associates degree through the John Deere Ag Tech Program. TriGreen also works with local community colleges that have diesel programs to feed their Apprenticeship Program. However, key challenges remain. How to engage tech-savvy students and bring them into the industry? Finding these technician-savvy individuals early can be crucial, said Walling.
“The idea is that when one of them knocks on your door, you have a technician person ready to work with them, rather than trying to turn a baler mechanic into an technician specialist,” Walling said. “Instead, you bring in someone with the right expertise from the start.”
TriGreen supports cooperative programs that allow students to split their time between school and hands-on work at the dealership. “We do cooperative-type programs where they’ll spend so many hours in school, then come to a store and work,” Walling said. “There are several students going through it right now.”
Home Grown Talent
Ron Dugger, a sales professional at the Jasper location, sees his firsthand knowledge of John Deere products as a direct benefit to customers. Dugger came to TriGreen Equipment with over 14 years of experience with cattle herd management. Whether it’s a hay baler or a commercial zero turn, Dugger’s extensive experience with the John Deere lineup gives him an edge to provide personalized product knowledge to customers.
The company also values its existing workforce of local mechanics. “We’ve got good mechanics who are from the community,” Walling said. “People know them, and they trust them.”
2024 in Review, Goals for 2025
As TriGreen Equipment looks ahead to 2025, Walling remains cautiously optimistic about growth following a period of economic uncertainty.
“Honestly, we’re hoping to rebound from last year,” he says. “We expect 2025 to still be a little slow, but by the following year, we think business will pick up and expand more.”
Despite concerns, 2024 performed better than initially expected. “At first, when things started slowing down, we thought, ‘What are we going to do?’ But it actually turned out to be our biggest year.”
Political uncertainty also played a role in business fluctuations, he adds. “After the election and inauguration, we noticed a shift. Almost immediately, people started coming back, and the overall sentiment became more positive.”
When asked if 2025 could see a decline from 2024, Walling says it’s difficult to predict. “I don’t want it to be, and we’re not planning for it to be, but it could still be a challenging year. That said, we have a lot of resources to work with.”
TriGreen Equipment is on the Farm Equipment Dealer 100™ — a ranking of the top 100 North American farm equipment dealers — by number of locations, which provides information on total and ag stores, brands, geographies served, employees, history, executives and ownership/company profile information.
