John Deere can be for more than just farming: The company carries a wide range of products. What’s in demand can depend on the year and the season.

“The John Deere line is going to cover everything from your small yard and garden up to large agriculture,” said Trent Sessions, store manager at C&B Operations, a John Deere dealer in Powell.

John Deere has offered lawn and garden equipment since the 1970s, he said, and within a couple weeks people will begin looking at lawnmowers.

“Every year it’s a big combination, everything from lawn mowers to the sub compact to the mid frame,” Sessions said, “and we’re doing plenty of ag business also.”

For lawn and garden equipment, C&B’s offerings range from lawn mowers up to mini tractors that range from 23-100 horsepower. From there, the tractors continue to increase by 10-15 horsepower per model and reach a horsepower of 410 for row crop tractors and over 800 horsepower for four-wheel drive models. C&B also has a lot of hay equipment, including balers and windrowers.

Having a variety of products line helps when demand for large ag equipment lags in a “down year,” Sessions said.

“Hay prices aren’t the best and expenses are up, still and again,” he said, “so diversity really helps this location in particular so we’re not … trying to pay all our employees off large ag.” 

Right now C&B is doing a lot of preventive maintenance work on machines. Come spring, they’ll start seeing a peak in lawnmower sales and people will also start looking at small tractors.

C&B staff begin to get calls or sales leads, “as things start greening up,” Sessions said, and people realize they want a piece of equipment or if they’re new to the area and realize they need something for their property.

Between C&B and Heart Mountain Equipment, a licensed Kubota dealer just down the road, “it’s just a good spread,” Sessions said.

“There’s just a lot of diversity, from the large to the mid, to the little small stuff,”  Sessions said, adding, “the word is out: two great brands, two good names and two good businesses.”

There has been a lot of interest in small agricultural equipment from ranchette owners and people who have moved into the Big Horn Basin in recent years.

The John Deere brand appeals to people because they’re American made and come with good warranties and quality, Sessions said. “Just a good company, a good brand to have.”