History

Edward “Ed” Derr and Paul Bucher bought Oregon Truck & Tractor in 1947 from Melvin Scheib. In the early 1950’s Ed bought out his partner and it’s been family owned and operated ever since. At the time, the business was located on Highway 111 just west of downtown Oregon, Mo. That building is no longer standing and the Public Water Supply District No. 1 of Holt County’s main offices are at that location. Ed’s son George “G.W.” came into the business in 1961. In 1972 Oregon Truck & Tractor moved to the old Bragg Chevrolet building which was located off 59 Highway on the east side of Oregon, and in 1975 became incorporated. In 1978, the shop and parts department addition was added, giving the business a total of 18,000 square feet under roof. Also in 1978, Oregon Truck & Tractor Inc. purchased 50 acres on the southeast edge of Oregon from John Bush. Bill “Waddy” Derr farmed the ground for Oregon Truck & Tractor, and the Derr’s later built a machinery shed which was used for a set up shop. In 1987 Oregon Truck & Tractor celebrated its 40th anniversary; at that time Oregon Truck & Tractor had 12 employees including Ed, his son G.W., and grandson Brad.

G.W. and Dixie purchased Oregon Truck & Tractor Inc. in 1991 from Ed, who two years later, on January 26, 1993 passed away. George spent most of his day working with his customers and selling equipment, while Dixie managed the books and took care of the office work. Their son Brad was managing the Parts Department and his son Garrett was busy harassing the employees and getting thrown in the trash can by Brian Kunkel. As business practices within Case IH changed, the location in Oregon could no longer meet the requirements as a modern Case IH Dealership, so George and Dixie purchase 27 acres just outside of Savannah, Mo for a new dealership. In the fall of 1998, G.W. and Dixie opened Derr Equipment, a 25,500 square foot two story building at the intersection of Highway 59 and Business Highway 71. In 1998, between the Oregon Truck & Tractor facility and Derr Equipment the Derr’s employed 26 employees, including G.W., Dixie, and Brad. The Derr’s added a 15,500 square foot showroom, parts room, and lawn and garden shop onto their dealership in 2005 giving the main building its current 31,500 square feet of space. That same year they built a 12,000 square foot parts warehouse and setup shop, which is north of the main building giving Derr Equipment 47,500 square feet under roof.

Brad and his wife Deena purchased Oregon Truck & Tractor Inc. from G.W. and Dixie in December of 2012. Brad and Deena’s oldest son Garrett started working for Derr Equipment part time in 2005. After Garrett graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 2013, he took on the roll of Precision Farming Specialist for his dad. Today he is the the Sales and Precision Farming Manager. Brad and Deena’s youngest son Cutler graduated high school in 2013, He went to college at Northwest Missouri State University and worked part time in the Parts Department. After college Cutler moved into his current roll as a Salesmen focusing on the Kubota and Cub Cadet product lines.

Derr Equipment currently has 32 employees, including Brad and his two sons Garrett and Cutler, who sell and support dozens of different equipment lines including Case IH, Kubota, Cub Cadet, Woods, and many others. Derr Equipment has been in business for over 70 years and even though times are different, we still pride ourselves in doing business today like we have for over 7 decades.