At The Farm Shop in Edina, Missouri, co-owner Alan Dixson was waiting Friday for his first Kubota sign to arrive so he could put it up.
But the word was out in these parts of Northeast Missouri, and customers were already stopping by the store to price the first wave of Kubota machines at The Farm Shop.
Dixson and fellow owner Jim Hamm have been longtime AGCO and Massey dealers for farm equipment. These days, they’re busy adding their new Kubota line of skid steers. The additions represent the first step of this dealership’s expansion into serving construction contractors, in addition to the farmers who have long been their customers.
“We signed up in December,” Dixson says, adding that they’re also adding Kubota RTVs and tractors to their inventory as they expand offerings.
A challenging beginning in tough times
In 1980, there were six ag machinery dealerships in the Missouri county of Knox. In 1985, The Farm Shop first opened its doors. That was during the worst farm economy since the Great Depression.
Dixson and Hamm started as a repair shop for farm equipment, then decided to start selling shortline equipment such as Great Plains, Krone, Vermeer and A&L grain carts. By the next year, they were selling AGCO. Then came Massey Ferguson.
Their belief in servicing what they sold helped them grow into a full line dealership by 1987. And by that same year, they say, there was only one ag machinery dealership left in Knox County: The Farm Shop.
Kubota machines stir interest in this county seat
In recent years, they’ve been selling a lot more brands than they did back in the mid 1980s. Kubota is the newest.
With one of the sparsest populations in Missouri, the dealers say the only way they’ve stayed in business in this area for 33 years was by taking care of their customers. Their wives and sons also work for the dealership, and the dedication of these families and other employees is strong when it comes to service.
One Memorial Day, for example, they were officially closed so their employees could spend time with their families. But somehow, the doors were open, the phones got answered, and parts were available for more than 11 hours that day, just like when they started out with a repair shop back in 1985.
The Farm Shop’s address is 54618 State Highway 6, Edina, Missouri, 63537.