Tony Gubbels, left, and co-worker Kevin Wolff wear masks made by another co-worker’s wife while working at Brim Tractor Company in Salem on Thursday, April 16. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
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Across the country, farmers are plowing under their crops, dairy farmers are dumping milk and meat processing plants are closing, but Carl Capps of Brim Tractor Co. said despite that worrisome development, he’s still selling machinery to specialized operations throughout the Willamette Valley.
Most farmers, he said, have to keep producing or “we’ll all starve.”
Capps, a sales consultant for Brim that opened in Salem in 2005, said although he’s got four customers with approved credit ready to buy equipment, they are holding off because they are skittish about the current economy.
Others however are placing orders. So who is buying the tractors manufactured primarily by New Holland during these tough times? Capps listed them off.
Homeowners want the smaller tractors to mow lawns, prepare garden space, move bark dust, clean horse stalls and work on landscaping projects.
Those with vineyards, hazelnut orchards and blueberry fields are buying narrow-built tractors to navigate down rows to fertilize, spray and cut weeds.
Tree growers use tractors at their nurseries to pull trees with large root balls from the ground to load onto trucks to ship to buyers.
Another Brim customer bought a tractor that specifically cuts hemp, used in manufacturing CBD oil.
Sales during the Great Recession during 2008-09 were “grim” compared to how things are going now, he said.
The stock market was crashing, people owed on their mortgages and banks were closing.
“Today, people have to have faith in the economy because it’s coming back,” he said.
Between April 2019 and April 2020, Capps said he generated $2.5 million in sales.
Capps estimates that Brim has about $2 million worth of tractors and auxiliary equipment at its 4.5-acre operation at 4720 Ridge Drive N.E., just off of Hyacinth Street. About 15 people are on the payroll, including those working in sales, parts and repairs.
The smallest tractors for sale are 25 horsepower and sell for about $15,000, while the biggest machines are 700 horsepower and cost about $400,000.
Brim is attempting to make buying a tractor more attractive to the farming community during the pandemic by financing some products at no interest, with a five-year payoff period and no down payment. Payments aren’t due until January 2021.
Capps believes that Brim is doing well financially with growers because the New Holland tractor line is a good product, and the company sells its tractors at lower prices than other well-known brands.
Brim saves money by advertising primarily on Facebook and Craigslist and not in newspapers and on television, which costs more.
Capps encourages customers to visit the Brim operation during the pandemic because of the safety precautions in place at the store. Potential buyers are encouraged to wear masks. Employees wear them, hand sanitizer dispensers are everywhere, and the 6-foot apart rule is in place.
Brim operates six locations: Chehalis, Lynden, Pacific and Mount Vernon in Washington and in Salem and Eugene.
Carl Capps wipes down equipment with a bleach solution after it was handled by a prospective customer at Brim Tractor Company on Thursday, April 16. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
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