Our Cutters Day and Chip, Split and Drive Day open houses were a resounding success. There has been a lot of interest in wood related items including chippers, splitters and winches. Our customers and we enjoyed many test drives and great food. Thank you to our vendors for all their effort making these days enjoyable and profitable.

Our business has continued to prosper in spite of rising interest rates and high fuel prices. We believe that more people are spending their leisure time at home and mowing their own lawn, doing landscaping and gathering firewood to help save money. What better way to perform these tasks than with a compact tractor? What other form of recreation can increase your home's value? What other product depreciates more slowly than a tractor?

Two years ago we noted that gasoline had reached $2.00 per gallon, now we are nearing $3.00. A camper requires a truck with a large engine to haul. A boat burns gallons per hour. A compact tractor burns a couple gallons per day and saves you money doing chores yourself.

Boats and campers are only used in the summer. How many sunny days are there to go boating on the coast of Maine when you don't have chores to do? An open winter ruins snowmobiling. The tractor has truly become the four season recreation of choice and it saves you money on landscaping, lawn mowing, heating bills, snow plowing and many other tasks. Everyone should have a tractor. "The Friendly Folks" have many to choose from and will take the time to help you find the perfect tractor for your needs. We have one of the best selections in New England, what have you been waiting for?

SERVICE

We have sold hundreds of tractors each year for many years, also hundreds of generators, snowblowers, lawnmowers, lawn tractors and implements. All of these items will require regular maintenance and occasional service and repairs. We have added additional help in both service and parts to keep up with the growing number of machines we sold.

The addition of more mechanics has greatly reduced our backlog. However, we are still a seasonal business and we get overwhelmed when everyone waits for the last minute to bring his or her equipment in for service. To help offset these crises we have several successful programs in place. "We Care Winter Care" is a preseason tune up for lawnmowers and lawn tractors in the late winter and generator and snowblowers in the fall. We also implemented the Commercial Care Partnership Program to keep the commercial mowers mowing. All of these proactive programs are designed to prevent repairs in the busy season.

Our mobile service personnel have been busy doing maintenance and repairs in the field. In addition to greasing the tractor every 8-10 hours, changing the fluids and filters on your tractor at the scheduled intervals is the single most important maintenance you can do. If you are not comfortable servicing your equipment, or you would rather spend your time working with your tractor rather than working on your tractor; please give our service department a call and they will dispatch a factory trained technician to your home or jobsite.

PARTS

We have increased our Parts team to four people to better serve you. Mike Dumond joined our team to help with the shipping and receiving. Mike has done an excellent job of taking some of the load off the other parts people. We have increased our stocking levels and have over $200,000.00 in parts. We are stocking all of the commonly used parts for all of the equipment we sell. We cannot, however, stock everything all the time.

Each week we do a stock order for most brands, which allows us to save you money on freight charges. If you are in need of parts right away most companies will ship overnight for a fee. Freight is often less expensive than down time. Please ask and we will be happy to expedite your parts.

FAIRS

Once again we will be attending Union, Windsor, Blue Hill and Fryeburg Fairs. We will have our best selection of toys and scale models at the fairs. Shop early and often to find the right toy for your collection.

Union Fair: August 20-26, 2006
Windsor Fair: August 27- September 4, 2006
Blue Hill Fair: August 31 - September 4, 2006
Fryeburg Fair: October 1-8, 2006

RENTAL

Renting a piece of equipment is often the most cost effective way to get your projects completed. Our Rental Department continues to grow and thrive. We now have 4 excavators and 2 tractor loader backhoes in our rental fleet and they are busy. If you have a project in mind please give us a call and reserve a unit early.

GENERATORS

The prediction for another strong hurricane season, the bird flu, and general power outages is keeping the demand for generators strong. Why suffer through the next power outage with thawed food or frozen pipes when a standby generator could keep the water running, the food frozen and the heat on? Honda is offering 12 months no payments, no interest on most products. Stop by and find out how easy peace of mind can be. Check out:
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/gen.asp.

If you have a tractor be sure to check out the Winco W7PTOS. This 7kW generator hooks to a category I 3-point hitch and requires only 14 PTO horsepower. This generator will reduce your equipment maintenance because there is no engine to maintain and it is substantially less expensive than an engine driven generator.

Do you go south for the winter and wonder if the house will survive a power outage? If you want absolutely seamless transfer of power when the lights go out we offer the Winco automatic standby generator line. This unit is hooked up to an automatic transfer switch. It has a weatherproof enclosure and will be permanently mounted outdoors. When the power goes out, it starts and connects to your home automatically. When the power comes back on, it turns off. It even tests itself once a month so you can be sure it will be ready when you need it.

MILLCREEK

Is that unsightly manure pile attracting flies and blocking your scenery? Why not use your manure to fertilize the fields? Millcreek has a spreader for almost every small farm. Millcreek spreaders feature a poly floor for long life and are available in either PTO or ground drive. Even a garden tractor or ATV can haul the ground drive spreaders. It's time to find out why more people choose Millcreek at discount prices from Union Farm Equipment, Inc.

HAY

If you have grown tired of throwing square bales up to feed your animals, try a hay conveyor. Simply put the conveyor up to the hayloft, turn it on and send the bales up, much better than a torn shoulder. We stock Snowco hay conveyors. These conveyors are available as a 16' base unit and can be extended in 4' or 8' increments. We even offer a "ready to work" special set up with a 1/2 hp motor for your convenience.

Of course, we have a great selection of round and square balers, rakes, tedders, mower conditioners, sickle bar mowers and disk mowers to help make hay.

KUBOTA

Kubota continues to be the best selling compact tractor in the United States. We are proud to be one of the largest Kubota dealers in the country. We have accomplished this honor by giving people the value they deserve on each purchase. We were the first dealer in Maine to offer a block heater, bucket hook, grill guard and rear work light on all our new tractors. We were the first dealer in Maine to offer Rim Guard TM instead of calcium chloride in loaded tires. All of our new tractors come with a 50-hour service package (please ask for more details). Our new tractors are delivered free of charge in our normal trade area. When we deliver a tractor we will take the time to instruct the operator(s) on safe and proper operation and maintenance.

Kubota was the first company to recognize the need for a subcompact tractor including the BX1800 and BX2200 in 1999 at the annual dealer meeting. Two years later Kubota unveiled the BX22, the first subcompact tractor, loader, backhoe. The BX-series have been ideal for the home owner with less than ten acres to mow grass, move material, dig holes, blow snow, rototill, maintain a gravel drive and all of the other tasks homeownership brings.

The new BX-series feature the BX1850 and the BX2350. These tractors feature a larger operator station, an integrated loader valve and a curved boom loader. The BX24 tractor, loader, backhoe has all these features plus a curved boom backhoe. Stop by and find out why more people choose Kubota BX's than any other subcompact tractor.

If you need a larger tractor, Kubota has tractors up to 125 hp. What ever your job demands, there is a Kubota for you. From zero radius turn mowers to tractors to utility vehicles to excavators Kubota has the right machine for the job at hand.

NEW HOLLAND

New Holland continues to lead the industry with ergonomically designed tractors. New Holland has best in class visibility with a sloping hood and curved boom front-end loader. After a long day at work having a comfortable tractor to help with the chores is a big asset. Alternately, why would you want to spend your day off on an uncomfortable tractor?

We are pleased to have the full line of New Holland compact tractors, with over 20 in stock, from the subcompact TZ all the way up to the turbocharged TC55. If you have been thinking about a compact tractor be sure to check out www.whyblueisbetter.com.

New Holland is also carrying on their long tradition of agricultural products. We stock New Holland's TN series tractors. The TN tractors are heavier and have more loader capacity than their competition. These tractors are available with several transmission choices and are the perfect choice for a mid-size tractor.

FIREWOOD

Whether you have burned wood for years or you just installed a woodstove to beat the high price of heating oil we can help make your firewood preparation much easier. We are well stocked with winches, log arches, wood splitters, wedges, cant dogs, and chainsaws. If you own woodland the cost of firewood is minimal, but cutting down trees with an axe and carrying wood by hand is just too much like work. If you have waited for the ground to dry up to get your firewood, now is the time to get ready for next winter. Stop by "The Friendly Folks" and see how much easier it could be to cut your own wood- it may even be fun!

IMPLEMENTS

Now that you have a tractor there are many chores to do. The right implements can make the job so much easier. We have always tried to buy direct from the manufacturer whenever possible. We are large enough to get substantial discounts on many products and often we can get free freight. We pass these savings on to our customers with every day low prices.

Bale spears, bale grabbers, forestry winches, rotary cutters, landscape rakes, rear blades, snowblowers, finish mowers, pallet forks, log arches, post hole diggers, rotary tillers, power rakes, disk harrows, balers, box blades, flail mowers, backhoes, cultivators, weight boxes, grapple buckets, cordwood saws, chippers and too many others to list here can all be added to your tractor. Whatever your needs may be please ask "the friendly folks" for advice on the proper implements for your tractor. Many of the implements are offered at factory direct prices with savings up to 25%.

Finally

If you have ideas or suggestions that may help improve our Parts, Service or Sales Departments, please give us a call at 1-800-935-7999 or e-mail us at ufe@unionfarmequip.com. It is our goal to provide you with the best value in an atmosphere that is as pleasant as possible.

"The Friendly Folks"