o'brien county implement
Sheldon, Iowa
Years of Operation: 1948 - Present
Years of Operation: 1948 - Present
Vern Schemper established O'Brien County Implement in 1948 east of the town of Sheldon. Vern was only 23 years old and some local Sheldon residents said the business would not survive being located outside of town. Now they remain as one of the few former Oliver dealerships in the entire country still in operation! O'Brien County Implement was a Massey Harris dealer when it opened up. In 1959, they added the Oliver Farm Machinery franchise to the dealership. The dealership contract was approved by Oliver Corporation on September 2, 1959. The dealership received the President's Honor Council Award from the Oliver Corporation for 1966. Vern's sons Tom, Lee, and Jay all joined their father in the operation of the dealership. Tom Schemper recalls him and his brothers riding along with their dad to the Oliver branch house in Omaha. As dad went inside and talked business, the boys knew what to do. They had been trained to go dumpster diving to see if the branch house had tossed out any usable Oliver parts!
O'Brien County Implement made the transition as Oliver became White in the 1970's and continued with White Farm Equipment and eventually AGCO. In 1989, they added the New Holland equipment line as their primary line of farm machinery. Today, they are no longer an AGCO dealer. Vern passed away in 2008 and Tom, Lee, and Jay continued the family business along with the third generation of Schempers working at the dealership.
O'Brien County Implement made the transition as Oliver became White in the 1970's and continued with White Farm Equipment and eventually AGCO. In 1989, they added the New Holland equipment line as their primary line of farm machinery. Today, they are no longer an AGCO dealer. Vern passed away in 2008 and Tom, Lee, and Jay continued the family business along with the third generation of Schempers working at the dealership.
In spring of 2011, O'Brien County Implement moved into a brand new dealership building. Their former location on Highway 18, which included 27 acres of equipment salvage yard, was cleared off and the site was redeveloped with construction of a new grocery store.
PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE DEALERSHIP
The original O'Brien County Implement dealership shown in the 1960's. Note the large equipment salvage yard shown in the top of the photo.
O'Brien County Implement's modern dealership built in 2011. Photo Courtesy O'Brien County Implement
