Watch Now — 55 Years of Farm Equipment

Past and present Farm Equipment magazine leaders go down memory lane together as they chronicle 55 y

Farm Equipment magazine is celebrating its 55th Year in 2023-24, as well as 20 years under Lessiter Media's ownership. In this new mini-video series, brought to you by AgDirect, past and present Farm Equipment magazine leaders go down memory lane together as they chronicle 55 years of Farm Equipment.   To read more on the unique and interesting story of Farm Equipment over the last 6 decades, click here. The commemorative history edition of the October/November 2023 Farm Equipment — in its entirety — can also be found here. One of the keys in Farm Equipment’s journey was the day it became a “real publication.” Up until the mid-1980s, it was largely a new products vehicle and was edited by Johnson Hill Press (JHP) workhorse Butch Horn, who was juggling 5 publications single-handedly.   A young Willie Vogt was transferred from JHP’s custom-publishing division in 1985 to turn Farm Equipment, which up to that point had been a new products tabloid, into a “real magazine.” He recalls the JHP meetings with Mike Martin, Jim Rank and the newly arrived Rich Reiff and getting the message that they wanted to “do something different and important in the market.”   In this video series, Farm Equipment Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter sits down with Vogt, who shares his memories of his time with the magazine.   Watch Now Part 1 | Part 2 In this video series, Farm Equipment Executive Editor Kim Schmidt sits down with Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter and retired Executive Editor Dave Kanicki to discuss how Farm Equipment has evolved and grown since Lessiter Media acquired the title in 2005.   They discuss how the Dealership of the Year program got off the ground and how it has evolved over the years, as well as the impact it has had on them personally and the magazine.    They also discuss the various ways Farm Equipment has grown and introduced new products over the years, including the special Dealership Minds issues, the Farm Equipment Sourcebook, the creation of the Precision Farming Dealer and Rural Lifestyle Dealer brands and the Dealership Minds Summit and what sets it apart from other industry events   Watch Now Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In this video series, Farm Equipment Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter sits down with Don Henning, retired executive vice president for Johnson Hill Press, former owners of Farm Equipment magazine, reflects on how he ended up working for the company and some of the early days of Farm Equipment.   Don recounts why Feed & Grain and Farm Equipment were split into two publications and the growth that followed for both the title and the publishing company.   Watch Now Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In this video series, Farm Equipment Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter sits down with  Jonathan Pellegrin, retired CEO of Johnson Hill Press, as he recounts the story of how his father, George Pellegrin, started Johnson Hill Press in Fort Atkinson, Wis., in 1957 and his early success with Farm Equipment magazine.     Jonathan joined the company in 1967 and helped grow the publishing company to 30 publications in agriculture, transportation, construction and home building. He shares the story of splitting Feed, Grain & Farm Equipment into 2 titles — Feed & Grain and Farm Equipment.   Watch Now Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Watch The Entire Farm Equipment History Video Series The 55 Years in Farm Equipment video series is brought to you by AgDirect®, as we celebrate 25 years of serving agriculture’s equipment financing needs. In 1998, AgDirect was introduced as a new option for ag equipment financing. Twenty-five years later, that option is one of the leading equipment financing brands in the industry, and we have you to thank for it. While production agriculture has changed, AgDirect remains committed to simple, fast and flexible financing – with online tools to support you through the process and excellent customer service to match. Contact your AgDirect territory manager or visit agdirect.com to learn more. Copyright ©2023 Lessiter Media 16655 W Wisconsin Ave, Brookfield, WI 53005 USA All rights reserved To update your Farm Equipment email preferences, click here. To unsubscribe for this mailing list, click here.