New Ag Equipment Business Coming to Dayton

DAYTON – For several years, Greg Bingaman, a La Grande, Ore. farmer and owner of Pioneer West Agricultural Solutions, has hunted for a place to set up shop in Dayton. His company already sells a large number of self-propelled sprayers to farmers in the Touchet Valley, and a local shop would serve not only those customers but new ones as well.

"So I thought it was time," he said in an interview with The Times on Tuesday. "And we found the old fire department building for sale, so we bought it almost a year ago now." Bingaman purchased the building at 206 W. Main St. from Columbia County Fire District 3 last spring.

The fire district has rented the building from Bingaman for the last year; but now the building is available as the fire district has relocated to its new building on Patit Road just outside Dayton on the east end of town.

Bingaman started the equipment sales business Pioneer West in 1997 on his own farm in La Grande. "We mainly worked in the winter, just to keep our employees busy, building and manufacturing spraying equipment," he said. One thing led to another, and now Pioneer West has stores not only in La Grande but also in Joseph, Oregon, and in Belgrade, Montana.

The Dayton store won't sell every line of equipment Pioneer West carries, Bingaman said, to keep from conflicting with other local dealers. But they will carry Versatile tractors, Miller sprayers, and Husqvarna lawn mowers, chain saws, and weed trimmers. The store will also carry a variety of items such as Carhartt clothing and DeWalt tools. Pioneer West also specializes in Lucas Oil products and carries all of that line, Bingaman said.

"It will be set up like a small farm supply store, like Ranch and Home, for example," he said.

Start up will begin slowly, according to Bingaman. He's hired a new parts person to start right away in town, occupying the building and stocking parts and pieces for the equipment the company services in the valley.

"We were hoping to open up this spring, but now it will be fall because we have to do some remodeling to the building," Bingaman said. "It's a slow process while we see what we need and get staff in place. But this is what we like to do. We're hometown people and we like putting stores in these small communities. It's the kind of people we are."

Bingaman estimates he'll eventually employ easily six people in his Dayton store. For more information about Pioneer West, sales or future employment, contact the main office at 877-253-WEST (9378).