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Berndt Farm Equipment has been a part of the Avon community for the last 46 years, starting in 1978. Its location for being off the beaten path, is actually quite perfect as the site sits almost on the boarder of the Tripp, Tyndall, Scotland and Avon school districts. Owner, Terry Berndt, started the business himself after attending the University of South Dakota at Springfield for diesel mechanics. After completing his education, he had planned to farm, but as the nation was in a farm crisis in the 1980s, Terry had to seek a different career path at the time. He started working for a shop in Springfield and eventually local people started bringing him their farm equipment that needed to be fixed or serviced, and a part of his current business was created. He then grew the business by selling Belarus tractors in addition to fixing farm equipment. Terry’s first repair shop was actually on the farm where he grew up, which is on the farm kitty corner to the west of where the current shop is located. When he was in high school, Terry had really wanted his dad to build a shop. His dad finally agreed if Terry would take down two of the buildings on the farm that were not being utilized in order to use the wood and location to build the shop. They both held up their ends of the agreement, and a shop was built which would eventually be the site of Terry’s first shop. Terry was born and raised in Avon. As a child, Terry can remember that he was always taking things apart with the intentions of trying to put them back together. It was not much of a surprise to anyone when Terry decided to continue his education in the diesel mechanic field. He began selling Belarus tractors in 1990 in addition to fixing farm equipment. Eventually adding Zetor tractors and currently selling Zetor and Versatile brand tractors. When asked what was something unique about his business, Terry said that he has always taken the path less traveled. When he first started selling Belarus tractors, people told him that that brand of tractor would never sell as they were an unknown brand in the area. They are not well-known brand names, but they are less expensive and geared towards small to medium size farm operation. Another interesting fact about the brands of tractors that he sells are that Versatile tractors are manufactured in Canada and Zetor’s are manufactured in Czechoslovakia. When he first began the business, Terry had no clue that it would one day become a family/generational business. Fortunately, Terry’s two sons, Landon and Riley, will eventually take over what has become a family business. Landon continued his education after graduation, completing the diesel mechanic program at Mitchell Technical Institute. Riley who also attended Mitchell Technical Institute studied Precision Ag. Landon currently deals more with the shop end of the business, while Riley is very active in the advertising of the business and moderates their Facebook page. Facebook has been an invaluable tool to the Berndt’s as they are able to reach more people from further distances looking for the types of tractors that they sell. Most of their tractor sales have been within a 250-mile radius, but they have sold a tractor to someone as far away as Butler, OK. Selling the lesser-known brands of tractors has been good for Terry. Over the course of the last 34 years since he started selling tractors, Berndt Farm Equipment has sold over 300 Belarus brand tractors and well over 350 Zetors which include both new and trade-ins. Terry estimates that all the equipment and tractors that he has sold thus far would total about 1300 pieces. One of the best parts of being an owner for Terry is that he gets to meet so many different people. With each new person that Terry gets to visit with, he gets to learn about his or her individual story. One of the newest additions to the business would be selling the Versatile brand of tractors and tillage equipment. As the Berndts have become very busy, they only fix the brands of tractors and equipment that they sell. In the future, Terry may be looking to expand the business a bit more by possibly hiring another diesel mechanic and part-time bookkeeper. Berndt Farm Equipment also likes to give back to the Avon community as they donate to the Avon School District’s annual science fair. They also hope that their business has benefited other businesses in Avon by bringing in prospective buyers. Bernt Farm Equipment is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.