WHITTEN -- The last six months have been fun for Gary Hauser.

A spike in corn prices has boosted sales and profits like never before at Hauser Implement, his family's small Case-International Harvester dealership in Whitten. Commodity experts predict strong grain prices for years to come due to demand for ethanol. But the long-term survival prospects of a single-location dealership like Hauser's aren't good.

Farm equipment experts say there is a reason small dealerships are in decline. Before falling victim to the growing consolidation trend, Hauser recently decided to embrace it. He has verbally agreed to sell the business to Titan Machinery, based in Fargo, N.D., which operates 21 dealerships in the upper Midwest.

"It's the Wal-Mart-ization of the farm implement business," Hauser said. "Our clients are fewer, there's more distance between them. Like so many mom and pop stores, when some big box store comes to the edge of town, that (store closures) happens."

Titan Machinery is constructing a new $500,000 dealership on the outskirts of Grundy Center, about 18 miles from Whitten. Titan also owns Smith International in Waverly and recently purchased the former Walterman Implement in Dike, forced into bankruptcy in October of 2005 by financial impropriety and unpaid debt totaling $22 million.

When the Grundy Center location is finished this spring, Hauser expects the sale of his business to become final. The dealership will close and all inventory and employees -- including Hauser -- will move to the new facility and work for Titan. Sales and service at the Dike dealership will also cease, he said, although that facility's fate is unclear.

Hauser has been inundated with customer questions about the sale. At 66 years old and nearing retirement, Hauser would rather sell on his terms than be forced out. Not that Titan is forcing Hauser to close; he is grateful the company is buying his business.

It will be a sad day when Hauser Implement shuts down, the longtime dealer said. It will be the first time in 73 years a Hauser -- Gary purchased the business in 1978 from his father, Herbert, who bought it from his uncle, Howard, who founded the dealership in 1924 -- isn't selling red tractors, combines and other equipment in Whitten.

"It's not without emotion we do this, but it's time to move on. In one respect Titan is an answer to my prayers," Hauser said. "I want my employees to have a job. It would kill me to put seven guys out on the street."

Titan officials didn't respond to an interview request.

Andrew Goodman, executive director of the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Distributors Association, said ag equipment dealers are consolidating for many of the same reasons there are fewer and bigger farms. The cost of business has escalated while profit margins have narrowed, requiring more sales to make money.

Dealers achieve savings through economies of scale and maximizing efficiency. A computer network can manage several stores as well as one dealership. Inventory can be shared among dealerships to keep farmers happy. Larger dealers can afford to train more workers to fix high-tech equipment. Health insurance premiums cost less for companies with more employees. And multi-dealership owners can afford a human resources director to keep up with complicated government rules and regulations.

"This is not a new phenomena. It's a long-term trend," Goodman said. "The level of investment, training and volume needed was less (30 years ago) than today."

In the mid-1900s, nearly every Iowa town had a stand-alone ag dealership or several of them. According to the equipment association, there were 641 dealerships in 1981, between 350 to 400 in 1991 and 340 in 2001. Today, there are about 300.

Farm numbers dwindled during that time period as well. Government statistics show 118,000 farms in the state in 1981, 103,000 farms in 1991 and 92,000 farms in 2001 and 89,000 two years ago.

Goodman said the way people farm and technology are also major contributors to consolidation. Larger, more sophisticated equipment can handle more acres. Most farms were livestock-intensive several decades ago. Not anymore. Farmers don't plow, cultivate and haul manure like they used to. All these changes mean less equipment is needed.

"Dealerships need to be a minimum size to truly serve the customer. … Multi-store dealerships are common," Goodman said.

Consolidation isn't necessarily a bad thing for farmers. Although customers may have to drive farther to a store, officials say the quality of service and equipment prices are better due to the competitive nature of the business.

Harry Olson, who owns John Deere dealerships in Waterloo, Waverly and Sumner, said producers benefit in many ways. For example, if the Waterloo store is out of a part a farmer needs, the Waverly or Sumner locations might have it for quick delivery. If a field repair truck is busy at one store and another call for service comes in, a truck from another store can be dispatched.

"Those things (services) get a little better," Olson said. "We have to be fair (with prices), and I think we are."

Contact Matthew Wilde at (319) 291-1579 or matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.