ESTEVAN - Equipment is one thing that farmers and acreage owners need to make their lives easier; whether it be a larger sprayer for the land or a smaller tractor and blower to clean snow, this is where Nelson Motors and Equipment comes in to play.
Wally Nelson bought his first dealership in 1959 in Avonlea, and it was already a John Deere. Over the years the company grew with adding locations in Radville, Estevan, Redvers and Oxbow.
The business has been family owned and operated ever since. Nelson’s brother Gary Nelson joined the team around 1969.
In the past 10 years, Gary’s son Jarret, along with his daughter Terri Stevens and her husband Marlyn Stevens, have also joined in the family business.
Darcy Yergens, who is branch manager and in equipment sales, is also part of the large team. The company employs around 150 people.
Yergens first worked for Nelson Motors from 2010 -2015, and then moved to Kelowna, where he sold John Deere, and returned home to Saskatchewan in 2022 to work for Nelson's again.
Yergens just returned from a business trip to Iowa with 40 customers, where they had a tour of the John Deere factory.
During this time, they also had the opportunity to visit the John Deere museum and the parts plant that covers 65 acres.
John Deere has their own cast to make the parts for their equipment, so they have control over how the parts are made.
With technology always improving, John Deere is working on having tractors, combines and sprayers that will soon be able to operate without a driver. These pieces of equipment should be on the market in the next year or two.
Yergens said that farmers have such a narrow window with field work because of the weather, they want to ensure they get this farm work done in a quick and efficient manner and feels the equipment that they have will do that job.
They have many competitors but according to Yergens, John Deere is the market leader in every segment. They not only carry John Deere but have a wide range of locally-produced products.
Brandt, Bourgault, Schulte and Seed Master are all made in Saskatchewan, and Macdon Industries is from Manitoba. Macdon is responsible for headers on equipment such as combine headers.
“With the tariffs coming into play, this is going to cause major issues,” said Yergens.
For example, a piece of farm equipment that cost $1 million will now cost the potential buyer an extra $250,000 with the 25 per cent tariff.
The market for grains has gone down as well and every farmer is feeling this.
Yergens feels that buying new equipment may not be in the budget for many farmers this year due to the increase of costs across the board. The tariffs would be applied to most agricultural needs, and it is their hope that this will be short lived.
In the meantime, they will continue with their customer service and look forward to serving farmers with all their equipment needs in the years to come.
