Drive Green

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When I was on location at our Houston stop I met Ronnie Borel who is an outside sales representative for John Deere Landscapes. He gave me an overview of the products offered by this division of the company. He says they offer about 95% of what the landscape contractor needs.

You can listen to my interview with Ronnie here:

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In Raleigh I met the Nobles who have their own landscaping business. Although they own a John Deere tractor, they’re in the market for one with a little more horsepower. The Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is certainly the place to do that.

You can listen to my interview with the Nobles here:

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Dixie Deer Classic Photo Album

When you visit a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show stop you’ll find smiling, friendly faces greeting you. In the Texas area, one of those smiley people is Kim Dergo, Dallas Branch Sales Promotion Coordinator. Here she is at the Houston Farm and Ranch Show stop.

Today you will find her at the Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo which is where I’m headed very soon. We have a static display on site today at which you can find John Deere representatives on hand to answer all your questions. You can also get an up close and personal look and feel for these new utility tractors.

I spoke with Kim about the Show moving through her area when we were in Houston. You can listen to my interview with her here:

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The Territory Manager for John Deere in the Houston area is John Peters. He’s bringing dealers up to date on the new tractors in this picture.

John says that since there’s just one Show stop in his territory he wanted to involve all his dealers. So he contacted them and got their support to put on the event at the Houston Farm and Ranch Club. With so many of them participating he held a morning session just for the dealers as kind of a refresher course and for those who hadn’t had a chance to learn more about these new tractors. Then the afternoon was devoted to customers.

I asked him how he felt about the event and he was very happy with it. In fact, he says that a local precinct in the city of Houston made a commitment to purchase 4 5E Series tractors!

You can listen to my interview with John here:

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During the Houston Farm and Ranch Show stop participants got to learn about all the Frontier attachments available for these new utility tractors. You can see them gathered around for a presentation after the tractors portion of the show.

I spoke with several participants like Reagan Folmar and Dave Hendricks. Dave says he saw lots of neat “toys.” I asked if he meant “tools” but he shook his head and confirmed it as toys. He said there were lots of features though that he could use and some he couldn’t. Reagan said that he’s in the market for a new tractor since he didn’t get one last year when he wanted to.

You can listen to my interview with them here:

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Getting to test drive these new utility tractors was a lot of fun in the sun at the Houston Farm and Ranch Show facility. A large area of the parking lot was set up in lanes for tractors, Gators and mowers.

Customers who came out included Andre Roberts and Louis Robertson who both work for the city of Alvin, TX. They said “it’s a marvelous show.” They said that getting to come out and visit personally with John Deere representatives is really helpful since they’re responsible for buying equipment.

You can listen to my interview with them here:

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We had a lot of representatives from the Houston area John Deere dealers come out today to the Houston Farm and Ranch Club.

Two of them were Darrell Taylor, D.E.R. Equipment Co. (l) and Lloyd Shoppa, Shoppa’s Farm Supply. They really appreciated the opportunity to get a short course on these new tractors because that will help them when they talk to their customers.

You can listen to my interview with them here:

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This afternoon was devoted to a live show in the arena for customers and then some outdoor riding and driving in the sunshine.

Here’s the basic package of equipment that you’ll find on display at the Show events. Of course there are a number of additional units available for the ride and drives.

Today’s photo album has been completely updated so feel free to check it out: Houston Farm and Ranch photo album.

The Houston Farm and Ranch Show Drive Green event is underway and local area dealers are getting a first look at the new utility tractors. They started out in a classroom and are now out getting a hands-on before we’re open to the public this afternoon.

I think it’s important to point out how John Deere takes providing educational sessions for their dealers seriously. This ultimately helps you, the customer, have a more meaningful experience at your local dealer and get the information you want and need.

I’ll be updating later today and in coming days from today’s event. So feel free to check out the photos in the meantime: Houston Farm and Ranch photo album.

During the “Dallas Branch” leg of the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show we’ve got a new truck driver. We’ll be catching up with Ron Lang again though.

Our new driver is Mark Roose. I caught him on a break this afternoon during set up for tomorrow’s Houston Farm and Ranch Club event. Mark had a mostly uneventful drive down from Iowa and talks about his role in the Show.

You can listen to my interview with Mark here:

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Don’t forget to visit our event photos: Houston Farm and Ranch Club photo album.

Hello from the Houston Farm and Ranch Club.

This is the kickoff location for the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show in 2009, the Year of the Utility Tractor. I sure wish the new President had mentioned that in his inaugural speech today. It definitely is an exciting time and I hope you have a chance to pay us a visit. We’ll keep updating the schedule for you so you’ll see where we’re going to be.

I was on location this afternoon as the show was getting set up and you can find some photos in the Houston Farm and Ranch Club photo album.

Stay tuned for lots of interviews and pictures from tomorrow’s event.