The Rural Lifestyle Dealer team extends our appreciation to the Dealership of the Year judging panel made up of Dr. W. David Downey, David L. Kahler, Charles R. Glass. Read their thoughts on the caliber of the dealers.

Tony Winslett, co-owner, says, "We spend more on advertising per size of dealership than most dealerships in the country."

Back in the fall of 2007, Rural Lifestyle Dealer debuted with the aim of helping dealers identify and adapt to an evolving market where a new type of buyer was taking on a significant role.

Blue River Tractors of Durant, Okla., had its beginnings as a repair shop and the dealership continued its customer-first philosophy when it became a tractor dealership in 2010.

Back in the fall of 2007, Rural Lifestyle Dealer debuted with the aim of helping dealers identify and adapt to an evolving market where a new type of buyer was taking on a significant role. As then-managing editor Dave Kanicki put it in the inaugural issue, “The hobby farmer, the rural lifestyler, the large property owner — representing the most significant growth market for farm machinery during the past half-decade and for the foreseeable future — require a different kind of approach.”