Eastern Farm Machinery Limited began in 1952 after the termination of A.B. Farquhar Canada Ltd., which had been started by Stan Snyder in 1949 and was closed when the Oliver Corporation purchased A.B. Farquhar in York, Penn. and Cockshutt in Brantford, Ont.
In an effort to continue the introduction of new shortline equipment into Eastern Canada, Stan formed Eastern Farm Machinery Limited in Guelph, Ont. and invited D.M. Johnson and J.C. Marus to join him in this new venture.
Some of the short lines which helped this new company to succeed were manufactured by: Cobey Corp., Galion, Ohio; Western Land Roller Co., Hastings, Neb.; Killberry Mfg. Co., Winnipeg, MB; Owatonna Mfg. Co., Owatonna, MN; Hinson Mfg. Co., Waterloo, Iowa; Meyer Mfg., Urbana, IL; and Kewanee Mfg. Co., Kewanee, IL.
The companies products enabled E.F.M. to introduce and make available new equipment and technology for farmers in eastern Canada. Some of the early equipment which E.F.M. introduced to the market were:
- Power take off Manure Spreaders - Cobey Corp.
- Self propelled Windrowers - Owatonna and Killberry Mfg.
- Hay Conditioners - Meyer Mfg.
- PTO driven Hammer Mills & Mixermills - Western Land Roller
- Weatherbrakes & Tractor Cabs - Hinson
- Wheel type Disc Harrows - Kewanee
- Tractor mounted Snowblowers - McKee
Over the ensuing years Eastern always attempted to remain on the leading edge of introducing new technology and new equipment to the agricultural market. Some of these lines included:
- Automated Transplanters - Mechanical Transplanter Co.
- High speed Grain Drills - Ontario Drill Co.
- Grain drying, elevating and storage equip. - Long Mfg. Co.
- Travelling reel type irrigation equip. - Long Mfg. Co.
- Continuous flow grain drying equip. - M & W
- Air conditioned, heated tractor and combine cabs - Full Vision
- Tractor mounted Loaders - Humboldt, Skyline
- Fixed chamber round Balers - Welger
The 1970's were a very dynamic and critical time for E.F.M. In 1970 E.F.M. formed Ontario Harvestore Systems Ltd. to assist farmers in the mechanization of the feeding process and the proper storage of feed under oxygen limiting conditions. In 1971 Stan Snyder, EFM's President, became the first Canadian President of the U.S. based Farm Equipment Wholesalers Association. This organization, formed in 1945, is a collection of farm, industrial and commercial equipment distributors throughout North America. During this time Eastern's product lines also grew.
By providing superior service, availability, quality and price, the number of product lines we distributed grew to over 40. Eastern also moved into the light industrial, commercial and lawn & garden segments of the markets. E.F.M. markets its products through 400 dealers in Ontario and Michigan using 3 Territory Managers who make regular calls on dealers in their specified areas. The number of services we perform for our dealers is large and varied. They include machine and parts warehousing, equipment financing and floor planning, trade shows, product training seminars, service training, advertising, demonstrations and new product introductions to name a few.
Currently we import products from numerous foreign countries including:
- Denmark (Hydromann, Lynex)
- Estonia (Kreisi, Sami)
- Italy (Messersi, Balfor, M3, CF)
- France (Rabaud)
- Czechoslovakia (Laski)
- China (various products)
- and the U.S.
This requires that we attend foreign trade shows and continually evaluate many product lines that become available to us. The company's size and proximity to the market allows us to be very familiar with the area's requirements and quickly respond to its needs with high quality, innovative machinery for the dealers and their customers.
In the 65 years Eastern has been in business there has been enormous change in the production practices of farmers. More intensive farming, larger equipment, more efficient design and technologically advanced machines are a few of the developments we have witnessed, as well as been an integral part of. We have seen dealers come and go and suppliers as well. All this time we have made an effort to provide high quality, innovative equipment to the market at competitive prices for the enduser. Our success has been possible only through the dedication of Eastern's employees and their efforts to treat dealers with fairness and respect. As producers move to more precise, controlled input production techniques, we at Eastern Farm Machinery Limited will continue to provide them with solutions for their businesses into the future.
In 1997 Eastern purchased Precision Industries Guelph Ltd. a manufacturer of liquid chemical application equipment. Precision manufacturers application equipment for OEM's, municipalities, agricultural customers, governmental agencies and commercial applicators. For a more detailed look please check www.precisionindustriesltd.com
In May, 1998, we added two additional representatives to cover the southern portion of Michigan in addition to opening a warehouse in East Leroy, Michigan to service our growing dealer network.