The rural customer and their unique equipment and service needs continues to be a key component of most successful ag dealerships. With that in mind, we’ll also continue to provide insight to that market digitally via RuralLifestyleDealer.com and now also with periodic dedicated Rural Lifestyle Dealer pages in Farm Equipment.

Many of the inventory and supply chain issues facing big ag also plague the outdoor power equipment market, but the mindset of the rural buyer is wildly different from that of a farmer who is likely used to a several month gap between making an equipment purchase and taking delivery. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a rural customer who’d be as understanding making a zero-turn or compact tractor purchase and then waiting for months or even just a few weeks before taking delivery and getting the chance to put it to use. But based on what dealers and manufacturers are telling us, that may be the reality we’re facing because of dwindling or non-existent inventories (we’d love to learn what you’re seeing and hearing as well as how you’re addressing it — feel free to drop me a line at mellis@lessitemedia.com).

While the issues of the rural equipment buyers and the approaches to dealing with them vary somewhat from their big ag counterparts, their dollars are no less green and the revenue they bring in is no less valuable to your dealership. So, we’ll carry on shining a light on the opportunities that exist there while providing you the tools and advice to foster and grow that end of your business and maximize its impact on your bottom line. 

Michael Ellis, Publisher

mellis@lessitermedia.com