Better Equipment, Lower Price

“We still have a couple of green tractors, but everything really began to change a couple years ago when one of my uncles decided to retire,” Steve Hicks explains. “We had already become a little bit disillusioned when the [Deere] dealership expanded to about 15 stores through acquisitions. They were becoming more like a corporation than a local dealer.”

So, to evenly divide the farm assets upon the uncle’s retirement, the family had an auction to sell all the equipment they owned. At that point, they approached Kuhns Equipment in Arthur, Illinois, about rebuilding their fleet with everything from the AGCO® line, starting with Massey Ferguson.®

“We got together and realized we were farming for the bank and all the input corporations, and decided we wanted to put some revenue back in our pockets,” says Steve. “Massey Ferguson gave us the best opportunity to do just that. The price point is unbeatable, and when you get service from a local dealer like we have from Kuhns, it was a no-brainer.”

Since then, the Hicks family has purchased no fewer than seven Massey Ferguson tractors among them. Steve’s Hicks Cattle Company, LLC, owns an MF8670, MF4710, MF6614, plus an MF1734E he bought for his mom to use as a mowing tractor. Steve’s dad and uncle, who operate as Hicks Farms, Inc., own an MF7722, MF8730 and MF4608. Hicks Farms also owns two White Planters—a 9824 and 9924—an MF9545 combine and a Sunflower 9830NT high-speed air drill, which is used to plant wheat and cover crops.

Steve also runs a Hesston by Massey Ferguson® 2270 big square baler. “That baler has increased our efficiency by a mile,” he relates. “We’ve used it to put up ryelage, wheatlage, alfalfa baleage, grass hay, wheat straw, dry alfalfa, sorghum Sudan, millet and cornstalks. It definitely makes our feed rations much more palatable and cost efficient.” And, he adds, “I really like the Dyna-VT™ transmission; I’ll take a CVT on any model that Massey Ferguson offers it on.”

In addition to the equipment the dealership sells, Steve has become a fan of the service he and his family receive from Kuhns, which has locations in both Arthur and Gibson City, Illinois. “Their service has been amazing, and Paul Kuhns is a rock star,” he says.

“His role may be that of a salesman, but he’s not afraid to crawl under the baler and get dirty to fix a problem, either. Their whole staff has gone above and beyond anytime we’ve needed them.”