Member Spotlight- PrairieLand Partners
If you see a John Deere tractor working in the field and the operator’s hands don’t seem to be on the steering wheel, don’t be concerned. That tractor probably has an auto steer system with a GPS with a ½” accuracy from PraireLand Partners. According to PrairieLand Partners Store Manager Kelly Pitts, “Just about everything we sell now has auto steer on it, so it automatically steers itself through the field … makes straight lines. Most of them will draw a map of what they’re doing while they’re out there.” This allows the operator a “hands off” approach to the steering and lets him focus on the quality of the job and being sure that the machine is operating as it should. This “precision farming” technology has proved to be a cost savings to farmers.
PraireLand Partners began when three successful John Deere dealerships from the McPherson area, Hutchinson, and the Wichita area merged in 2007. A couple of years later the dealership in Andale was added. PrairieLand Partners now has nine locations with approximately 260 employees, of which 50 are employed at the McPherson dealership. McPherson’s PrairieLand Partners, is at 2401 E. Northview Road, where they have been located since January 2016. Their hours are Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday: 8:00 a.m.-noon, and closed on Sunday.
The primary business for PrairieLand Partners is selling John Deere equipment and the attachments needed, as well as Stihl Products. Pitts says the business has evolved from just three departments: parts, service, and sales, to adding a fourth department – integrated solutions. In the integrated solutions department you see science and the farming industry intersect. The integrated solutions department is devoted to precision farming technology through the use of GPS and RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) allowing the farmer to work a field knowing that it will be the most productive that it can be. PrairieLand’s service area covers McPherson, Rice, and Saline County, as well as parts of Marion, Harvey, and Reno County. PrairieLand Partners is the primary dealership in the state for forage harvesters, reaching as far as Oklahoma and Texas, and they are the commercial sprayer equipment center for the east half of Kansas.
PrairieLand Partners has become the largest John Deere dealership in south central Kansas and is committed to providing growth, success and stability to employees and customers alike. Some of their products and services include tractors, planting equipment, grain handling and storage, skid steer loader/loaders, hay/forage, lawn mowers, snow blowers, and water pumps. Their mission is “Partnering Together to Nurture the Land.” Learn more about all the services and the complete product line that PrairieLand Partners has to offer by visiting their website. Photos from the Chamber Connections at PrairieLand Partners can be see here.