Rebuilt Cornhead Leads To New Farm Business

Rebuilt Cornhead Leads To New Farm Business COMBINES Headers 29-1-18 A big farm shop, a switch to 20-in. rows, and the confidence to build their own 18-row cornhead all lead to a profitable sideline business for Allan Prestegard and his son Richard. The Blue Earth, Minnesota farmers built a few heads for neighbors and then got an order for five. Before they knew it, they were in the cornhead rebuilding business. "We have four full time employees, and the cornhead business has allowed us to make better use of their time," says Richard. "New 18-row, 20-in. cornheads run around $100,000. We can provide one that runs great for $37,500. The others are great products and may have more features, but they charge for them, too. It's just a matter of where the customer wants to put his money." Five years after building their first corn head, about 40 customers have put their money on the lower cost units from the Prestegards. Although they are advertised as rebuilt, only the frame, the tin and the gearbox are original. Chains, rollers, deck plates, chain guides, sprockets and poly grouts are all replaced. Although it is not replaced, the gearbox is checked over and given a 1-year warranty. Best of all, the business finances itself. All cornheads are rebuilt to order. A customer needing a cornhead leaves a cornhead with them along with a down payment Trades are sometimes made and, if new rollers have just been installed, the customer will get credit for them. While the Prestegards keep an inventory of used cornheads, they only rebuild on order. This keeps costs down. "We don't keep a big inventory of parts, and what we do have is for heads that we have orders for, so we know the income is coming," explains Richard. "Of course, the more rollers or other parts you can buy at one time, the lower the cost and the better our margin." Figuring out margins is part of the learning curve of any business. When they got their first order for five units, they thought they had priced them right. When the units were done, the Prestegards realized they were underpriced. Prices of future units were adjusted upward. While they currently have time and capacity to build about 12 heads per year, the Prestegards have no interest in expanding the business. It fits with their large farming operation and farm shop, as does a third enterprise which is buying and selling used trucks, trailers and other ag equipment. "Farming is number one, and building cornheads is number two," says Richard. "If anything is expanded, it will be the farm. If the cornhead business goes away, we will roll with the punches." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Prestegard, 44130 50th St., Blue Earth, Minn. 56013 (ph 507 878-3250 or 712 229-0054; email: rpresteg@cvtel.net).

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