“The way the prices or steel are going, the prices on the packages are getting higher and higher all the time,” Bragg says.
Dollar agrees when it comes to many of the steel-built products McCoy’s carries, such as calf tables. But it could be a double-edged sword.
“From everything we’ve seen so far, the one thing that has changed over the years is that pricing continues to go up significantly with steel,” Dollar says. “It’s hard to know when people are going to say enough is enough and stop buying. At some point, people will only pay so much.”
An issue that Beus has come across when dealing with her customers is where products are made. If something is made in China, a customer is likely to walk away, following last year’s outbreak of tainted pet food, largely produced in China. “I had no idea people would take it all the way to that level,” Beus says.
Recognition is a key as well. McCoy’s is a corporate sponsor of the Texas Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Texas High School Rodeo Association. The dealer also attends numerous agriculture conferences across the state, including the Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association of Texas (VATAT) conference. McCoy’s has a banner featured prominently on the FFA’s and VATAT’s home pages, and maintains booths at each association’s annual convention. The FFA show draws as many as 10,000 people per year.
“That’s the future of the people who will be using these products,” Dollar says. “We’re planting the seeds.”
Hartnagel has a sponsor partnership with the Clallam County Fair, where it hosts a double-sized booth displaying its products. The dealer recently initiated monthly educational clinics, too, along with special Purina promotions, such as buy-one-get-one-free days.
Perhaps its most simple and successful stroke to get the word out is a banner hung on the front of the Hartnagel store, promoting the arrival of farm products. Given the store’s location on busy U.S. 101, the banner more than did its job.
“It’s truly been a phenomenal niche. Truly remarkable,” Beus says.
