Dealer Execs on Shortline Equipment’s Place in Their Business, Part 2

Part 2 of this Farm Equipment series provides dealers’ candid views on shortline equipment — their fit, performance & shortcomings in today’s world of dealer sales and support.

On November 24, 2025, the editors of Farm Equipment published “Dealers Address Shortline Executives on Their Shortfalls, Opportunities,” the first article in a series on the dealer executive panel held at the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. (FEMA) Convention in Las Vegas. 

Hosted by the Dealer Relations Committee of FEMA, and association of independent manufacturers, the panel featured both large and small dealers of various major- and shortline brands and a shortline-only dealership. The open-format discussion was moderated by Mike Lessiter, editor/publisher of Farm Equipment.

Reuterskiold: We can explain to the majors when something is different than theirs and something they don't offer and is not competitive. That is key. And that stuff is A-OK with them. It's when they have a light product where they are directly competing. For instance, we’ll explain to our major line why we take on something like a triple mower line — because they don’t make one and we need to help our customer. They might offer all the other hay equipment, but we’ll still need to take on this other product. It must be different and the majors are generally OK with that.

Orr: We sell combines and we also sell a dry edible bean harvester, and that was a big contention point a couple years ago when we picked those guys up. It was a differentiation of the product that their combine could not cut beans in the same way as this one could and in our conditions. We try to do a good job of showing the difference in products. For instance, there are 25 different variations of a disk, and not all work from my 12 soil types in Idaho. 

And at the end of the day, if my OEM or major lines are making a superior product, then that is a reality check on my end. But if we have a shortline that is far superior or completely different than what they're offering from the major, then it’s just a part of life.