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Midstate Power Products: Kubota tractors and more

Midstate Power Products: Kubota tractors and more

Midstate Power Products: Kubota tractors and more

By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press | Mar 4, 2022

Monica and Frank Platt, co-owners of Midstate Power Products, are no strangers to taking the show on the road.

The Kubota dealership was one of the first to sign up to sponsor the first-ever Central Oregon Agricultural Show March 26-27.

For 10 years, they have sponsored and exhibited at fairs, trade shows and other ag-related events from about February through fair season in August, setting up booths and displays of the latest Kubota machines.

“During COVID, nothing was happening; it was very weird,” Monica Platt said. “Everybody said to take advantage of the downtime because when the shows are on, we’re moving around a lot and there’s always something in the works while we’re also trying to keep the stores staffed.”

The Platts purchased his brother Gilbert’s 30-year Kubota dealership in 2011 and set about making it their own.

“We started out small, with three or four people in the whole operation, and just kept expanding from there,” Platt said. “We started taking on larger tractor lines with larger equipment that couldn’t fit in the shop doors and knew we had to move.”

The Platts found a three-acre property on Highway 97 that included a large, vacant building — a former KidZone indoor play facility.

“It was dilapidated, and we were able to purchase the land,” Platt said. “Then we found a contractor to basically recycle the majority of the cinder block building.”

The new building was finished in 2014, complete with taller roll-up shop doors.

“It had such a dynamic effect on the business,” Platt said. “Productivity went up and sales increased by 30% just from changing to a location with better visibility and access; it was absolutely amazing what a difference it made.

“We were able to bring in more product offerings, which also helped,” she said.

The following year they opened Pelican Tractor Company in Klamath Falls, followed in 2018 by Malheur Machinery in Hines.

“Kubota has evolved over the years with their tractor horsepower offerings and are not just small hobby tractors anymore,” Platt said. “They’ve gotten up into the higher horsepower-range tractors, which is what you need to work with some of those larger ag implements.

“They have also expanded their construction equipment offerings with mini excavators, skid steers, wheel loaders and quite a few other things,” Platt said. “We’ll be bringing some of that equipment to the show, including some of the high-tech laser-operated guidance machines.”

Midstate carries a few additional lines to complement the Kubota selection.

“We sell Vermeer agricultural equipment, especially their bale processors that shred the bales into pieces and lay the hay out in a long row of cattle feed,” Platt said. “Kubota also has an entire hay tool line with round balers, rakes and mower conditioners.”

The company’s Great Plains Manufacturing line includes many larger implements for larger-scale tilling, seeding and planting. They also carry Land Pride, a division of Great Plains that leans toward smaller attachments for smaller scale tractors, rototillers and the like.

Flex harrows, disk harrows and seeders are the biggest sellers from Great Plains, and Land Pride implements such as pallet forks, bale spears and grading blades are popular for all tractor sizes.

Kubota Corporation bought Great Plains Manufacturing and Land Pride two years ago, and the company now produces several Kubota products, particularly those used in the construction industry.