When Ron Schouwenburg was a student in Hills High School, he worked in the Hills John Deere Implement dealership for his dad and uncle, Don and Marinus Schouwenburg.
That was when John Deere tractors, like the 720 and 630, ran on two cylinders and less than 50 horsepower, and planters like the 494 and 694 operated in only four or six rows at a time.
After he graduated, Schouwenburg started working as a service technician in 1968, and as the equipment grew, so did Schouwenburg’s experience in the business.
“I had on-the-job training,” he said about his education.
In 1975 he started as a salesman when Hills Implement moved to Luverne and became Olhausen and DeSchepper where Hills Stainless Steel is now located.
Schouwenburg’s homegrown roots and local connections served him well.
“My customers were my friends,” he said. “There was a trust between you and your customers.”
That was a big year for John Deere, which introduced its 40 series tractors, like the 2040, with a diesel engine that produced around 70 horsepower.
Bigger tractors could pull bigger equipment, like the 7,000 series planters that planted twice as many rows at a time.
“I remember selling my first 12-row planter in 1975. … It was a big planter at that time,” he said.
Today John Deere sells 48-row planters pulled by 620 horsepowered four-wheel-drive tractors that cost a half million dollars.
And Schouwenberg was part of it all, from parts and sales to setup and assembly.
He also weathered big business transitions at the dealership.
In 1982 the business became Olhausen Farm Power, which put up a new building where C&B Luverne is currently located.
That was about the same time the farm economy bottomed out and Schouwenburg said it was hard to sell equipment and even harder for farmers to pay.
“Money was short all over,” he said. “I wrote John Deere contracts at 21-percent interest. It’s no wonder people didn’t make it.”
In 1995 the dealership became Hohn Implement and by 2005 business started improving.
“Things got really good in 2005,” Schouwenburg recalled. “It was fun.”
In 2008 Hohn became Rock County Implement, which was renamed in recent years to C&B Operations.
Corn was getting $8 per bushel and soybeans were selling for $17 (compared to today’s depressed prices of $4 corn and $8 soybeans).
Subsequently farmers had money to spend and assets to adjust.
“We sold a lot of stuff,” Schouwenburg said. “You’d get it on the lot and it would be sold. … New, used, it didn’t make any difference.”
He said inventory included 4-wheel-drive 9620s and 30s tractors … “stuff we thought wouldn’t sell right away, but it did.”
These good years, he said, made up for hard times and helped prepare him for retirement, which he planned to do at age 70.
But a cardiac arrest and open-heart surgery in March changed his timeline, and he announced his retirement at age 69, after 51 years with John Deere.
“Everyone tells you you’ll know when you’re ready,” Schouwenburg said. “The hard thing is probably letting go.”
In his 51 years, he said he’s made lifelong friends with generations of farmers, some of them in their third generation family operations.
“I’ve enjoyed working with the customers and the farmers,” Schouwenburg said. “And I’ll miss the people I’ve worked with the most.”
Among them is C&B manager Dan Block, who’s been with the company since 1995.
“Ron’s been a very good friend of mine and a real asset to the company for longer than more of us can remember,” Block said. “There’s no doubt we’re going to miss his valuable years of experience and priceless long-term relationships with customers. We wish him well in his retirement.”
An open house retirement party for Schouwenburg will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, June 3, at C&B Operations, Luverne. Coffee, rolls and cake will be served.