<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2pMfXq_0vVYIcVh00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2pMfXq_0vVYIcVh00" width="1200" height="811" ><figcaption>Visitors to the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, check out a forage harvester at the Claas display. Claas ended service contracts with two longtime dealers and is working to establish new partnerships and open some of its own stores. Tri-State Neighbor photo by Janelle Atyeo</figcaption></figure>After ending contracts with two agricultural equipment dealers, Claas is looking for independent dealerships in the Midwest to sell and service its equipment.Claas, a German company whose American headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska, says service contracts are in place to get farmers through this harvest season and the next.That includes Ziegler, who has agreed to service Claas combines through December 2025. Ziegler announced this summer that, along with closing four stores in Wisconsin and Missouri, the company will no longer distribute Claas equipment. It is focusing instead on Agco and Fendt equipment.“It’s just a sign of changing times. We’re headed into a bit of a recession in agriculture, and we all need to focus and prioritize resources,” said Daryl Theis, central region manager with Claas.It’s difficult for shops to specialize in several different brands of equipment when the machines are becoming so complicated, he said.Zeigler has sold and serviced Claas equipment for 27 years. Similarly, Bulter Machinery Company, is ending its collaboration with Claas after more than 25 years.Butler will sell Claas equipment through January 2025 and will continue to service and provide parts through 2026.“We’ve been working pretty hard to fill some of those gaps in our channel,” said Theis, speaking to reporters at a press conference during the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. “Parts and service is a priority and ensuring that people make it through harvest.”<h2>People are also reading…</h2>Claas signed with Parallel Ag in Missouri, to service combines for Parallel’s Concordia location. In Wisconsin, Dodgeville and Deforest using Lindstrom Equipment, brought on additional technicians.The bulk of Claas combines are in Minnesota and Iowa, according to Theis. He said Zeigler is a good option for servicing those machines over the next two harvests.Claas will be a full line Claas dealership in Le Mars, Iowa next spring. As a Claas Farmpoint storefront, it’s a hub for the company’s mobile service model that puts technicians on the road to service customers within a 100-mile radius.The company recently hired four new technicians to service its Arion tractors, Xerion tractors, Axion tractors and Jaguar forage harvesters.Claas is looking for a second Farmpoint location somewhere in north central Iowa, in Webster County.Another temporary Farmpoint hub is opening in Jamestown, North Dakota, aimed at serving Claas customers who currently work through Bulter, which is based in Fargo.“Our sales channel in the Dakotas will look a little different than it does currently,” Christoph Tetzlaff, vice president dealer and network development for Claas, said in a news release. “Our long-term plans will ensure the whole line of products will be available for farmers in the Dakotas.”The relationship between Butler and Claas dates back to the late 1990s when Claas’s facility in Omaha started making Lexicon combines branded for Caterpillar Ag.Claas aims to partner with existing family-owned dealerships that are already well connected in the community and know the area well, Theis said.“There’s a lot of great family dealerships that are doing an amazing job,” he said.Janelle Atyeo is a small town South Dakota girl enjoying her work as regional editor of the Midwest Messenger and Tri-State Neighbor while raising kids and no-till vegetables in central Sioux Falls. Reach her at janelle.atyeo@lee.net.</div></body>

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Longtime dealers end Claas partnership

After ending contracts with two agricultural equipment dealers, Claas is looking for independent dealerships in the Midwest to sell and service its equipment. Claas, a German company whose American headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska, says service contracts are in place to get farmers through this harvest season and the next.

Longtime dealers end Claas partnership

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