Adam Huening
It’s probably a safe bet to say that any farmer in the tri-county region whose plowed more than an acre in the last 20 years has sought the service of Stone’s Farm Service, Inc., at some point.
The business, which sits modestly on Main Street on the outskirts of Greensburg’s eastside, has been around helping farmer’s plow their fields for the last 20 years. It’s a milestone owners Tim and Kim Stone said was a daunting achievement of a life invested not only in a business but the vitality of a community’s agricultural heritage.
More than 20 years ago, lifelong Decatur County native Tim Stone was working for a John Deere dealership and thinking about striking out on his own.
“I wanted to be independent,” he said.
After pouring some thought into the dream and discussing it with his wife, Kim, a building opened up on the city’s eastside. To them, it seemed like fate. So, in March of 1989, the Stones, along with Kim’s brother Bob Hoeing, took over a Snapper dealership and opened the doors to fix and service tractors and any other piece of equipment a farmer might use to grow their crops. At first, the business was much larger than anything they could have imagined.
“It was very overwhelming at first. I think people were ready for us before we were ready for them,” Kim Stone, also a lifelong resident, said. “We lived and breathed it. People think when you’re name’s on the building, you got it made in the shade, but we put in a lot of hours.”
In those first few years, she said, it was all they did. On Sundays, when their kids were little, the whole family would come in and work. The kids would color in the office while Tim tinkered with whatever project was in the shop and Kim would be out back testing mowers.
It only took a few years, they said, for the whole thing to take off. Their customer base grew from just local farmers to the entire southeastern Indiana region, with customers as farm south as Aurora and Madison and even across the river into Kentucky. They prided themselves on being able to find any part and built a reputation of quality with the people who grew to rely on their service. However, that reputation spiraled almost out of control.
“At one point, it was like a monster we created we couldn’t control,” Tim Stone said with a smile. “We had a lot of good help and that’s made it manageable. Our help has always been our best asset.”
Over the course of the two decades, the Stones’ business grew. They expanded their accessibility to parts, added a Kubota dealership and now sell customized accessories for the RTV’s on eBay. In March of 2001, they opened the NAPA store next door. Between the two buildings, they employ about 23 people, many of whom have been with the business for years.
“We have very little turnover. The people who work here have been with us for ages,” Tim Stone said.
Kim Stone added their employees were more like family than people whom they oversee. She said she could tell you the names of any staff member’s wife, kids or grandkids, and she takes pride in them as if they were her own.
“When you come from a small town that’s in you. We both grew up here and family is at the core of everything we do,” Kim Stone said.
Tim Stone added he felt their employees were more like kin than hired help and felt taken aback at Christmas when everyone chips in to say thanks with a present.
“When we have a Christmas party and the employees get us a gift, I’m humbled by it. It should be us taking care of them not the other way around,” Tim Stone said.
It has been that idea of family and community, they say, that has driven them throughout the years. They never wanted just a business, but one with an old-fashioned mom-and-pop atmosphere built on simply getting the job done right with a personal touch.
“In a small town, it’s all about the help. People do business with people,” Tim Stone said.
They’ve had the quality people over the years, and that personal business approach is something the Stones believe has been lost in the expansion of corporate stores. Sometimes, Kim Stone admitted, there is the fear of “being a dying breed” but integrity is something they hope will never die out.
“It’s the going against the grain. A lot businesses are going to that corporate model, but we’ve grown through that,” Tim Stone said.
Still the two have sacrificed a lot to see the business succeed this long, and while there have been things they’ve missed over the years, such as some of their children’s milestones, they know they’ve done things right and worked hard for what they’ve achieved.
“I plan on spoiling my grandkids,” Tim Stone said with a wry smile.
As times have changed, they’ve weathered tough harvests and hard winters, troubling economic times and setbacks. However, they are still there, and they credit that to their employees and the customers, most of whom they call friends.
Now, they said, it seems daunting to see some of their best customers retiring and renting or selling their fields. However, the reputation that once brought in those farmers is now bringing their sons back as they begin to sow their own fields and build their own families. It is a reality that makes Tim Stone pause for a moment and say how grateful he is for the customers he’s had and how that reality serves as a testament to the kind of business they’ve built.
“It’s really neat to see the next generation coming to you like their fathers did,” Tim Stone said. “I guess that says something about how you go about your business.”
After 20 years, the Stones hope their business may pass to the next generation as well, but likely not anytime soon. Both Tim and Kim Stone said they still love the challenge too much.
“We still love it when somebody comes in and tells us someone told them they can’t fix it. We love that challenge, and we’ll fix it,” she said.
