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John Oncken: Dairy ag sales reps provide labor of love

John Oncken
Special to The Capital Times  —  4/10/2008 8:34 am

To hear three longtime agricultural sales representatives talk, Wisconsin is going to be in the dairy business for a long time.

The state has the infrastructure to support dairy farms and farmers, something most states don't have, they noted. The sales reps added that many families have recently moved their dairy operations to Wisconsin from other states and even from other countries.

The three -- Phil Miller of Wieser Concrete in Maiden Rock; Jack Vande Hey of Wrightstown Mfg. in Wrightstown and Al Hangartner of Keller, Inc. in Kaukauna -- were talking at the recent WPS Farm Show in Oshkosh. And like most professional ag salesmen, they all love to talk and offer opinions.

Miller pointed out that the farm show and its many commercial exhibitors offered a wide variety of choices in farming equipment and supplies available to Wisconsin farmers. He said it's unique to Wisconsin.

Miller has sold pre-stressed concrete for bunker silos and freestall floors for 23 years. Vande Hey has manufactured and marketed custom barn equipment -- headlocks, dividers, gates -- since 1970, first as an employee, then as owner since the mid-1980s. Hangartner has been selling farm buildings since 1976, the last 13 years with Keller, Inc., one of state's leading farm building design and project management companies,

The three fit the title of professional salesmen and are very proud of what they do. Yet, they are but three of many hundreds of agricultural professionals who supply the dairy and farming industry with goods, services and supplies of every sort. They represent a segment of agriculture sometimes overlooked when people talk with pride about Wisconsin's 14,000 dairy farms and 1.2 million dairy cows.

Consider that a modern dairy farm uses technology of many kinds, much of which wasn't even around 10 or 20 years ago. That's why sons and daughters are willing to take over and operate the family farm and why dairying continues to remain a family owned and operated business in Wisconsin.

Although it's not something we often think about, a new machine, piece of equipment or idea doesn't get anywhere unless someone sells it and someone buys it. We think we know what we want and make the decision to buy by ourselves. And of course we're wrong.

Chances are someone talked of the advantages of a new freestall barn, of which there are many kinds. How would the new barn work with in our situation, our location, our labor supply, our time frame, our financial condition?

The expert is the sale representative, who can provide the information we need to know. Farmers talk with many sales reps from many different companies. They also ask the opinions of others who have purchased similar equipment. And they look at brochures and photos and read testimonials.

And after the new barn, tractor, gate, or bunker silo is purchased, there are questions. How is this done? How is this fixed? What does this gizmo attach to?

That's when the farmer calls the sales rep seeking immediate answers.

It takes a special kind of person to be a salesman. Most people wouldn't do it for all the money in the world. A true salesman does it for love and money.

Miller calls himself a "perpetual optimist selling happiness.'' His exhibit is a 16-foot high, 12,000-pound piece of concrete used to make a bunker silo. He says he's always outside in the heat, cold and rain.

"Actually I've been on vacation for 23 years,'' Miller says. "I don't know what work is. I make people happy by solving their problems.

"I sell trust in me and my products. Customers depend on me and I don't need to wait years to see results; they make decisions based on my ability to meet their needs.''

Vande Hey's firm custom builds equipment to solve farmers' problems and fill their needs.

"Today's farmer is well-educated," he said. "We don't sell the cheapest equipment but it is top quality and I'm honest in telling customers what they can expect."

Hangartner has a lot of pride in what he does. "And I really enjoy working with farmers,'' he says. "Every project is different and I do my best to fill their wants and needs. Farm shows give me a chance to talk with customers and maybe-customers to hear their challenges and desires."

Go to most any farm show and you'll see a display of Meyer Manufacturing forage boxes and manure spreaders. You'll also find either Don or Larry Meyer (or both) answering questions and talking with visitors. Nowadays you'll probably find Larry's son Troy at the exhibit.

Why are the owners of Meyer Manufacturing, located in tiny Dorchester at the junction of Clark, Marathon and Taylor counties, at the Oshkosh exhibit? Aren't they too busy running a national business to be standing around talking?

"It's so important to stay in touch with our customers," Don Meyer says. "We want to hear complaints if they have them and we'll do our best to fix them. Farmers know that we own the company and can tell them the ins and outs of our equipment.

"And we can provide what they want and need."

Tina and Tim Honigschmidt bought Lakeside Systems in New Holstein nearly two years ago from Glenn Lee, who had owned the Harvestore dealership for over 30 years.

Tina doesn't exactly fit the mold of a traditional farm equipment sales rep. At just five feet tall she can get lost in a group of 6-foot farmers. But they listen to her because she knows what she's selling. And it's not farm buildings, Harvestores or equipment. It's solutions, service and happiness.

Thanks to folks like Miller, Vande Hey, Hangartner, Don and Larry Meyer and Tim and Tina Honigschmidt and their many compatriots in agriculture, Wisconsin will remain America's Dairyland for a long time to come.

Bet on it.

John Oncken is owner of Oncken Communications, a Madison-based agricultural information and consulting company.

John Oncken
Special to The Capital Times  —  4/10/2008 8:34 am