He traded 11 John Deere machines for Massey Fergusons. Then the Deere dealer stopped selling him parts.
The Decision
March 14, 2023. A Tuesday morning in Kearney, Nebraska.
Four John Deere 8R tractors sit in a dealer lot. Washed, detailed, trade-in tags zip-tied to the mirrors. Behind them, three 9R series machines, two 7R models, a 6M utility tractor, a Gator utility vehicle.
11 machines total. $2.1 million in trade-in value. All green, all gone. The man who brought them in is standing near the service bay, arms crossed, watching a crew load the last tractor onto a transport trailer. His name is Kent Harrelson. He's 54 years old.
He runs 4,200 acres of corn and soybeans across three counties in south-central Nebraska. His father bought their first John Deere in 1971. A 4020. Kent learned to drive on it. For 52 years, the Harrelson family has been an all-green operation.
Not anymore. Across the road at a competing dealership, six Massey Ferguson 8S series tractors are being prepped for delivery. 8S.265, 8S.305, 8S.345. All brand new, all red. Kent's moving his entire fleet to Massey Ferguson in 1 week.
The John Deere dealer, a man named Rick Stoltzfus, who's known Kent since high school, hasn't said a word to him in 3 days. Rick's standing near the office window, watching the trailers roll out. He's not waving goodbye.
The Relationship
Here's what matters. Kent didn't leave because of a bad machine. He didn't leave because of a service dispute. He left because of a price war he couldn't win. For 2 years, John Deere had been tightening parts allocation to independent repair shops across Nebraska.
If you weren't a certified Deere dealer, you couldn't get transmission seals. You couldn't get ECU modules. You couldn't get the diagnostic software to clear fault codes. The reasoning was simple: protect the dealer network. But it meant farmers had one option for repairs, and dealers knew it.
By 2022, a routine hydraulic hose replacement that used to cost $140 was running $320. A software update that used to be free now carried an $850 service-call minimum. Kent had tolerated it, barely. But in January 2023, his 8R 370 threw a fuel injector code during a late season manure haul. The tractor was still under warranty.
He called Rick's dealership. They said they could get him in two weeks. 2 weeks for a warranty repair on a machine that cost $467,000. Kent asked if he could bring it in after hours and leave it. Rick said no.
Liability policy. Kent asked if they had a loaner. Rick said the loaners were all spoken for. Kent asked if he could order the part and have an independent mechanic install it. Rick said that would void the warranty.
Kent hung up. He called a Massey Ferguson dealer 90 miles west. They had a tech on site the next morning. Not to fix the Deere, they couldn't touch it, but to walk Kent through every machine in his shed and show him what a Massey Ferguson equivalent would cost. By the end of that week, Kent had made his decision.
He wasn't just switching one tractor, he was switching everything.
The Trade
The John Deere dealer didn't take it well. Rick Stoltzfus had sold Kent's family over $8 million in equipment over three decades. When Kent called to schedule the trade-in appraisals, Rick tried to talk him down. He offered free service for 6 months. He offered priority parts allocation.
He offered a $40,000 trade-in bonus on the next machine. Kent said no. Rick asked him to think about it. Kent said he already had. The appraisals happened on a cold morning in early March.
Two Deere reps flew in from Iowa to inspect the fleet. They spent 4 hours going over every machine, checking hours, fluid samples, tire tread, undercarriage wear. They offered $2.1 million. It was a fair number, maybe even generous. Kent took it.
The next day, he signed contracts for six Massey Ferguson 8S tractors. $2.4 million financed over 7 years at 5.8% interest. The difference would come from operating cash and a modest increase in his line of credit. The new machines were scheduled for delivery on March 20. But Rick wasn't done. Two days before delivery, he called Kent.
He said the trade-in deal was being delayed. Corporate needed more documentation, something about title verification on one of the 9R machines. Kent asked how long. Rick said maybe 2 weeks. Kent knew what was happening.
They were trying to stall him, trying to make the Massey Ferguson deal fall apart. He called the Massey Ferguson dealer and explained the situation. The Massey Ferguson dealer said, "We'll finance the full amount. Forget the trade-in value for now. You settle with Deere later." Kent agreed.
On March 20, six Massey Ferguson tractors rolled onto his farm. The John Deere machines stayed in Rick's lot. And that's when things got ugly.
The Retaliation
April 3, 2023. Spring planting season. Kent's running his new Massey Ferguson 8S.305 across a 240-acre field pulling a 48-row Kinze planter. The planter's a 2019 model, John Deere green. It's one of three machines Kent kept from his old setup, the planter, a grain cart, and a scraper blade.
Halfway through the third pass, a hydraulic line on the planter's down pressure system blows. It's a simple fix, a $70 hose, 30 minutes of labor. Kent calls the John Deere dealership. The parts desk answers. Kent gives them the part number.
The guy on the line pauses. Then he says, "We don't have that in stock." Kent says that's fine. How long for an order? The guy says, "We can't place an order for you right now." Kent asks why.
The guy says, "You'll need to talk to Rick." Kent calls Rick's cell. No answer. He tries the main dealership line. The receptionist says Rick's in a meeting. Kent drives to the dealership.
He walks into the parts department and asks for the hose. The parts manager, a guy named Dale who's worked there for 19 years, won't look him in the eye. Dale says, "Rick left instructions. We can't sell you parts."
Kent stares at him. "What do you mean you can't sell me parts?" Dale shifts his weight.