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Farm-Rite Credits Ability to Adapt as It Marks 55 Years
By Giles Lambertson CEG CORRESPONDENT
Tim Cox tells how, in 1983, he hired on as a 19-year-old mechanic at Farm-Rite Equipment in Dassel, Minn. This was in the early years of the compact equipment revolution in which full-sized construction and ag equipment began to yield market share to smaller machinery.
“We sold two Bobcats that year,” Cox recalled.
It was a start. A dozen years later, Tim and his brother, Tom, took the next step and bought the dealership. In the ensuing 30 years under their leadership, the Minnesota machinery dealership has sold thousands of Bobcat-branded skid steers, track loaders, excavators, mowers and numerous other types and brands of machinery.
Today, the company continues to grow its business volume, upgrading its property holdings, solidifying its relationships with customers and preparing for a promising future. Farm-Rite is a continuing success story within the larger juggernaut of business success called “compact equipment.” **
David Cox, son of Tom Cox, literally grew up around Farm-Rite Equipment. He officially came aboard the family company 15 years ago as a sales and inventory specialist. Now company-wide sales manager, he has helped sustain the momentum of the small machinery revolution in central Minnesota.
Tim (L) and Tom outside of the shop in Dassel in the mid to late 1990s.
Farm-Rite's equipment lineup in Dassel, Minn.
Tim and Tom (C) standing with Gary Schneekloth (L), the previous owner of Farm-Rite Equipment of Long Prairie; and Dean Schreiner, general manager of the Long Prairie location.
A Kvam Implement truck returns from Gwinner, N.D., after picking up new loaders.
The Dassel store as it was being completed.
Dianne Barke of Litchfield, Minn., receives the keys to her new Bobcat UV34 utility vehicle that she won at the Litchfield Wintercade Ice Fishing contest.
This Bobcat E88 compact excavator demonstrated a Diamond Mowers drum mulcher at a Diamond Days demo.
Willmar service truck
(L-R) are Tim Cox, Tom Cox, Tim Kramer, Bobcat sales representative (at the time) and Harvey Stueber, winner of a contest Bobcat held in 1999. Steuber won a Brushcat attachment.
Equipment is set up for a Dassel open house.
Dassel open house, circa 2000.
“Our biggest track loaders replace small dozers on small jobs,” said Cox of the evolution of equipment. “Plus, the track loaders have all these attachments that make them versatile. And the mini-excavator and the attachments they’ve added — we’ve seen a lot of growth through all of that.”
The Bobcat brand is a driver of growth. “Bobcat,” “skid steer” and “compact track loader” are synonymous terms in the minds of many people, inside and outside the industry. The original Melroe Manufacturing Co. began building compact loaders in 1957 in neighboring North Dakota and five years later rebranded the machine “Bobcat.”
In the next 20 years, 100,000 Bobcat skid steer units were built. In 1999, one of the Bobcat skid steer loaders was mounted on rubber tracks and the compact track loader was born. By 2014, Bobcat had manufactured one million of the sturdy, versatile compact machines. In 2025, the manufacturer continues to lead the compact equipment industry.
And Farm-Rite Equipment is in an industry leadership position, capitalizing on the strength of the Bobcat brand, adding complementary equipment lines and expanding its footprint across central Minnesota.
The original store in Dassel was dramatically expanded in 2007 with the opening of a new headquarters building that better served its customers and raised the profile of the company. Tim, Tom and David Cox all work from the Dassel headquarters.
Five years later, Farm-Rite owners learned that a Bobcat dealer 35 mi. away in Willmar wanted to sell his business. The Coxes snapped it up in another step to better serve customers in the area. In 2024, the size of the Willmar store was more than doubled with construction of a 32,000-sq.-ft. addition that includes a service bay with an overhead crane, a wash bay, a parts department with twice the capacity, a showroom and eight offices.
In 2014, Farm-Rite owners Tim and Tom Cox looked north to St. Cloud, another town 35 mi. from Dassel, and opened a store there on Mayhew Lake Rd. Jay Kockler, who has worked at the company since 2012, is general manager.
Then, four years after that, in 2018, the company bought out a machinery outlet on the outskirts of Long Prairie and opened a fourth Farm-Rite Equipment facility, approximately 90 mi. from Dassel and farther north, yet. Dean Schreiner is the location’s general manager.
Tim’s sons, Nic Cox (L) and Anton Cox (R) checking out the display of equipment at the Willmar Stingers baseball game with a friend.
At a 2021 open house in Dassel, Minn., David Cox (L), sales manager of Farm-Rite Equipment, Dassel, and longtime customer Randy Niska of Precision Concrete in Cokato, Minn., look at this dirt track race car for Travis Trelstad. Farm-Rite was the main sponsor.
(L-R): Owner Tom Cox; long-time service tech Tim Fennema; David Cox and Danny Cox at a Farm-Rite open house during the late 1990s.
Jay Kockler (L) and Mark Kunkel prepare for the St. Cloud open house.
So, is operating four equipment stores four times as hard as operating one? David Cox said that there are synergisms that come into play, of course, such as economies of scale.
“We carry more inventory than we once did, so we have parts and equipment we need right on hand. The other thing is the shared expertise. We have more employees and learn from each other across the company. The other side of the coin, of course, is it takes more dollars to have that inventory and to employ those people.”
The company currently employs just under 50 men and women.
Dassel continues to be the sales leader among the locations, with the other stores steadily contributing to business volume.
“The Willmar store has experienced a little more growth over the last few years,” said David Cox. “We have our new facility there and we’ve grown into that.”
Farm-Rite Equipment more than survived the Covid disruption of 2020-21. It continued to grow through it, even though “getting inventory and meeting customer demand for parts and equipment was challenging,” the sales manager said. “We are good at making the best of a situation and coping.”
Prior to Covid, Farm-Rite actually experienced “explosive growth” for several years, which, Cox said frankly, was “unsustainable.” He characterizes the past two or three years as a period of “stable and steady” growth in Farm-Rite’s business volume. The company is aggressively moving its ample inventory and taking care of customers,
David Cox, Farm-Rite Dassel, Minn., sales manager, with a Bobcat T450 compact track loader at an open house in 2022.
Farm-Rite of Willmar’s newly expanded inside entrance showroom houses sales and parts.
Gordy Anderson (L), service technician, and Tom Cox, parts and service manager and co-owner of Farm-Rite, are ready to take care of customers during the open house in Dassel, Minn.
Tom Cox and Tim Cox stand with Connor Menard at a Make-A-Wish event while Connor runs a remote-control Bobcat loader.
(L-R, behind counter): Dan Cox, service manager of Farm-Rite of Willmar, Minn., helps with the parts special at the Dassel open house, lending a hand at the counter to Ron Daniels, Farm-Rite parts manager, and Tom Cox, Farm-Rite service manager and co-owner.
The Cox’s brought their four-wheel drive tractor from the farm to pull the two halves of the Dassel shop together after it was relocated from Renville, Minn.
The service area is transformed for the Willmar open house in 2025.
Picture of early sitework and drawing of the new Willmar building.
A Bobcat CTL with Diamond Mowers attachment at a Diamond Days demonstration.
The new Willmar building under construction
as always, Cox said.
“The general economy has hit everyone the same,” he said. “We’re partners with Bobcat. When we do well, they do well. The better we do, the better they do. Across the compact equipment industry, we all are growing.”
At any equipment dealership, the equipment is the thing. Customer service and maintenance of congenial relationships are important, but if the equipment is subpar, there isn’t much hope for a company’s longevity. That is not an issue at Farm-Rite, where Bobcat leads a lineup of superior products.
Cox said the Bobcat T66 medium-sized track loader remains its sales leader. It is easy to see why — the T66’s turbocharged 74-hp has enough oomph for a wide range of medium-duty tasks. Its low-ground pressure (5.8 psi) rubber tracks make it welcome in delicate ground conditions. Its sealed and pressurized cab enhances operator performance.
CEG asked Cox if new “toys,” that is, new pieces of compact equipment, ever excite him?
“You do get excited sometimes with new models, new features, but you sort of get immune to it over the years.”
He cited the R-Series skid steer loaders as an impressive new offering from Bobcat. The loaders come in 68-74-hp models, have the latest electronic features in the operator cab for maximum performance and a frame of cast steel, rather than fabricated steel, for extra durability and greater capacity in lifting.
According to Cox, sales of mini-track loaders — the operator standon units designed for tasks in cramped spaces — have “exploded.” The machines displace manual labor on a work site, are narrow and light enough for minimal disturbance of turf and can be outfitted with fully two-dozen attachments ranging from buckets and grapples to angle brooms, augers and snow blowers.
“Both commercial and residential landscapers like them and equipment rental companies stock the mini,” said Cox.
The MT100 mini has been Bobcat’s mini-track loader sales leader. Costing approximately half what a medium-sized track loader does, the MT100 has a 25-hp engine and 12 gpm hydraulic flow. The little unit can lift and dump loads 7 ft. above the ground. A successor model out
David Cox (L), sales manager of Farm-Rite of Dassel, and Tim Krahn, district manager of Bobcat, West Fargo, N.D., stop by the open house in Willmar in 2023.
This Bobcat Platinum T76 series compact track loader with the Bobcat woodchipper attachment was ready for visitors at an open house in 2024.
Bobcat’s Joe Meide (L) and Danny Cox, parts manager, behind the parts counter at the new Willmar building during the 2024 opening.
Berrick Cox sits in the Bobcat M200 in the new Willmar showroom.
now, the Bobcat MT120, offers slightly greater capacity.
Still another up-and-comer in the Bobcat stable, according to Cox, is the ZS4000 zero-radius, stand-on mower. Powered by a Kawasaki 19hp engine, the mower features a deck that creates lift on the grass stems for cleaner cutting. Cox said the machine regularly receives good reviews and is building a following among landscape and residential customers.
Bobcat is not the only Farm-Rite product line, of course. Other perennial contributors to the company’s sales volume include a lineup of trailers — Felling, Towmaster and Midsota — and top-rated products from several other manufacturers.
Also contributing to the bottom line in the Farm-Rite business plan is its equipment rental business. Mini-excavators, compact loaders and attachments are among the most-rented machinery, according to Cox. He doesn’t see a day when rentals will cease to be a popular option for businesses.
“Everything, including equipment, just gets more and more expensive, so the cost of owning equipment continues to go up,” he said. “A business that is growing looks to rent equipment before it invests in equipment. New business owners will rent and include it in the cost of a job rather than overspend up front. In the last couple of years, while sales have been a little flat, the rental mix has grown.”
According to Cox, one reason the Willmar location has experienced growth in recent years is rentals.
Joe Meide (L), Bobcat district parts and service manager, met up with Tom Cox, co-owner of Farm-Rite Equipment at a 2025 open house.
Tim Cox, co-owner of Farm-Rite Equipment
Guests enjoy a catered lunch at a St. Cloud open house.
David Cox (L), sales manager of Farm-Rite, Dassel, Minn., and Tim Krahn, Bobcat senior account manager, welcome guests to another huge Farm-Rite open house in Willmar in 2025.
A full load of Bobcat R-series loaders heads out for delivery.
Willmar’s shop is set up for an open house.
Dan Ronning (L) and Jay Kockler at the Farm-Rite Equipment sponsored event featuring Bobcat ambassador Justin Moore at The Ledge Amphitheater, Waite Park, Minn.
A Bobcat T86 compact track loader on display at an open house.
The 2025 open house in St. Cloud included a demo area.
Service technicians from St. Cloud
The equipment is lined up and ready at Willmar’s 2025 open house.
“We have had a lot of rental success in the Willmar store. For one thing, it is a decent-sized city without a lot of rental competition. Plus, our general manager there, Dan Ronning, has a rental background and has taken full advantage of the situation.”
**
Farm-Rite Equipment is a family-owned business and is well along on a second generation of Cox family involvement. Besides David Cox as sales manager, his brother, Dan, is service and parts manager of the expanded Willmar store. Dan came aboard 13 years ago. One of Tim’s sons, Anton, worked at the dealership this summer before heading off to school, another potential Farm-Rite family employee in training.
The feel of the company is hardly corporate. The attitude toward customers is an indicator of that. David Cox said the company lacks a carefully crafted “core philosophy” like some firms create and emblazon on their website. It’s simpler than that at Farm-Rite.
“For myself, and I try to instill it in my people, I want our customers treated how I would want to be treated when I visited a business. That’s the main thing for me.”
The people-first attitude is evident in the open houses the company holds at each store each year. The hundreds of men and women who drop by each location are fed well and welcomed. What does the company expect to gain from the public events?
“I would say just keeping in touch with customers. We do offer some sales on Bobcat parts and some customers will stock up, but generally our customers look forward to the open house just to visit. In Dassel, we hold it on a Saturday and it’s almost a family event and it also gives us an excuse to clean up a place really well.”
Open house visitors to the Dassel store can see a completely restored M400 loader, the Melroe forerunner of Bobcat loaders. It was the first of the true skid steer Melroe machines and dates from 1960. In the Willmar showroom, the company has a restored Melroe M200. It was the immediate precursor to the M400 and was the original three-wheel unit invented by brothers Cyril and Louis Keller. Only 400 were built.
CEG asked David Cox if the company is on the lookout for another breakthrough machine akin to the Keller skid steer or for some existing product on the market that’s not currently offered at Farm-Rite.
Not really, he responded. “We’re pretty set, but if something comes along for which there’s demand, we’re open to considering it.”
Also not being considered at this point, he said, is lengthening the company’s string of stores by adding a location here or there in Minnesota, perhaps leapfrogging the Minneapolis metropolitan area to enter a market on the far side.
“The growth we’ve had has been mostly organic. There have been other opportunities, but as of right now, we’ve concluded that we serve the company better by focusing on what we have before we think about more expansion.”
He added that building out existing company facilities, as was accomplished at Willmar in 2024, takes precedence, with the St. Cloud location being the probable next target.
Cox credits the company’s “awesome” employee team and its loyal customers for the company’s continued success.
“It takes a lot of good people to keep all the parts of the business moving and to take care of our customers. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them. We also wouldn’t be in the position we are without our loyal customer base, many of whom are like family and have been customers through generations of their own businesses.”
All in all, Cox said, “We just wake up in the morning and put on our boots like everyone else and come to work with a plan, sometimes throwing away the plan and adapting to what the morning brings us.”
So far, this Farm-Rite Equipment approach has worked quite well. CEG
Former Minnesota Twin and Minnesota Twin broadcaster Dan Gladden (C) stopped by to see longtime friends and Farm-Rite owners Tim Cox (L) and Tom Cox.
Multi-platinum hitmaker and Bobcat ambassador, Justin Moore, takes time for a photo with Farm-Rite Equipment customers.
