Heartland AG Systems, Hutchinson, Minn., earlier this spring announced the purchase of Ag-West Distributing, an application equipment manufacturer based in Burley, Idaho, and the Pacific Northwest’s largest dealer of Case IH application products. The acquisition includes Ag-West’s three stores in Idaho, Montana, and Washington, with coverage also extending into the states of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming.
“The acquisition of Ag-West and their expertise in the Pacific Northwest offers an excellent opportunity to improve our commitment to our customers,” said Arnie Sinclair, President of Heartland AG Systems. “We look forward to providing our full portfolio of application equipment, services, and our own manufactured support products to the forward-thinking retailers and growers in our newly-expanded 17-state geography.”
Ag-West Distributing will be integrated into the broader Heartland AG Systems organization, and operate under the Heartland AG Systems name. Don Knopp, who co-founded the business with Mike Nelson in 1986, will join Heartland Ag as the Northwest Regional Manager and a member of the management team. The company’s 40 employees will also transition to the new ownership.
“We are excited about the commitment Heartland AG Systems has for the application business,” said Knopp. “We know Heartland is focused on this segment and will make certain our customers and employees are well taken care of during the transition and on a go-forward basis. The familiarity our organizations had from working together over the years, each as Case IH application distributors, gave us a keen understanding for how this acquisition could benefit our customers.”
Formed through the merger of two large application equipment distributors in 2019, Heartland AG Systems bills itself as the largest application-focused equipment distributor in North America, with a territory that now stretches from Michigan to the Pacific Northwest and from North Dakota to Missouri. The company offers a full product line for row, cereal, and specialty crops, including the complete Case IH commercial application equipment portfolio.
The company also manufactures application-support products, including tenders, pull-type spreaders, liquid trailers, and liquid fertilizer applicators under the Heartland AG Systems Equipment brand.