Irrigation Equipment Brand or Local Dealer
Which is more important?
If your farm is looking to make a major investment in irrigation equipment, do you follow the major brand with the established reputation, or do you select the local dealer that you know provides excellent service? It would be easy if the big brand and the good local dealer worked together.
Like many decisions, one simple answer is not the best for each of us. We have different needs, abilities, and expectations as well as financial situations. The best answer will come from research, self-evaluation, and preferences. We all like to talk frequently about our wins and less about our losses or mistakes. Honesty and clear, accurate evaluation will provide the best answers.
We are talking about specialized equipment, with three major players serving most of the country for center pivot irrigation systems. Estimates indicate Valley has 44%, Lindsay 30% and Reinke 26% of the US market share. Does the manufacturer you are considering have a long history, a solid market share and evidence of research and development in their products? If you can check those boxes, then they should stay on your list of viable options. Are they relevant in their market sector? Is there a significant investment at stake if they walked away? These questions may be able to determine the likelihood of that company remaining in business for the foreseeable future.
Now that we have reviewed ways to determine a solid manufacturer, let us consider a dealer profile. How local is local? Same town, county, or state? Would you consider them well established with decades of service and a solid reputation? Do they carry a significant parts inventory and have reliable employees that are well trained and stick around? Does the phone get answered and the service fleet get updated? Do they offer a preventative maintenance program? These businesses fail or survive by their ability to keep equipment in operation and maintain good relationships with the customer base. As you know, good news travels slowly, but bad news spreads like a pandemic. When your equipment is not operating, this is the place you call to get going again.
We have reviewed ways to evaluate both the “brand” or manufacturer and the local dealer. Now I think it is best to look in the mirror. How mechanically inclined are you or your staff? Is somebody well above average as a mechanic and willing, even enjoy, fixing and repairing? Electrical competence is also extremely critical for this equipment. I am not that guy. How long can the equipment be down before it becomes a huge financial burden on your business. Are you talking weeks, days, or hours? With some crops like pickles, it really is hours. Is it a minor inconvenience or a big deal to you and your farm to miss an irrigation cycle? If you do not have that mechanic on staff, or it is only a matter of hours before it is a potentially costly delay in watering, then I suggest you have a top-notch local dealer on speed dial. In this situation the brand is less important. If all the others apply, such as you have “that guy”, days out of service aren’t critical, and you’ll sleep ok with “plan B” for a bit, then the dealer relationship may be less important to you.
My advice would be to find a good local dealer that has all the accomplishments we discussed, and the brand would be just a bit less important. If the brand supported by the local dealer is significantly inferior and the local dealer is particularly good, that makes things a bit more complex. Great dealers usually do not continue to represent below average brands. You may find a below average dealer representing an extraordinarily strong brand from time to time, but this relationship does not often last decades. If this is your evaluation, quite likely there is a good dealer for that top brand that that is just a bit farther than “local”. Maybe a little farther travel time is worth your effort.
My recommendation is based on several facts and a biased opinion. Looking at the brands, Valley has the largest market share both in the US and around the globe. They continue to make investments with recent focus on technology related enhancements. Due to corporate diversification and overall capital strength, Valmont, Inc. has more resources available to invest in the irrigation business. From the dealer side of things, Michigan Valley Irrigation quite simply has more to offer Michigan growers. More locations, more equipment, a larger parts inventory, more irrigation experience in its staff, and more industry achievements and certifications than any other dealer in Michigan and the region. So, when you combine the best brand with the strongest dealership, the decision gets much easier.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pete is the marketing manager for Michigan Valley Irrigation, having joined the company in 2016. He was raised on a dairy farm in western New York and graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in agricultural economics. His entire working career of over 37 years has been involved in agriculture. A farmer helping farmers. When away from Michigan Valley he operates, Joyful Noise Farm, a small livestock and produce farm and spends time with his family.
