Third fiscal quarter net sales decreased 4%, largely driven by continued weather-related market softness in Australia and Europe as well as the impact to U.S. sales from the Sears bankruptcy.

Retail sales results were somewhat mixed, with greater than 20% snowmobile growth helping to offset modest weather-related declines in off-road vehicles, motorcycles and boats, according to the company.

BrandSpark International surveyed over 12,800 American shoppers to discover what brands they trust most. John Deere ranked first in the home goods/lawn mower category and DeWalt ranked first in the home goods/power tools category.

Catch up on what you might have missed with this round-up of trending stories.

Many economic indicators that measure the general health of the U.S. economy are trending upward, and this is good news for rural lifestyle dealers who count on sales of smaller equipment and machinery. This is particularly true when compared to dealerships who rely on big ag equipment for a bulk of their sales.

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2017 Census shows that the operations of beginning farmers are smaller than average in both acres and sales.

According to the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers’ latest report, U.S. sales of under 40 horsepower tractors increased 0.2% since March 2018. Sales in Canada of under 40 horsepower tractors grew 13.1%.

A compensation program that is at least on par with other dealerships is a critical part of keeping committed, motivated employees — and attracting new ones.