FARBER—Ethan Leadley said he wanted to build a farm equipment repair business to help the people of his community.
Leadley, who grew up in the Vandalia area, said being out on his own has always been in the back of his mind. Before this, he worked as a road technician for Syndenstricker Nobbe Partners. Leadley graduated from Van-Far in 2011.
Over the years, he worked on friends and family’s farm equipment on the side on his own, to the point, he said, where there was too much to do.
“I got to the point where I had too many side jobs, so I decided to just go ahead and go for it,” he said about starting his own service business. He named his company Leadley Farm Repair, and he works on all brands of machines, but specializes in John Deere equipment.
He has a shop at his home and a service truck, so he can go to where the farm equipment is that needs to be repaired. Currently, his hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Saturday. It is based about a mile outside of town.
“It depends on how busy I am on the hours,” he added. “If I’m super busy, I’ll probably have a lot more hours.”
Leadley is working on his own right now, but his wife, Jordyn, does help him out by taking care of the books and goes for parts when he needs them.
To reach Ethan, call 573-470-5152. He is currently building his Facebook page. He said he believes it will be ready sometime this week.
One of his goals is to have affordable repairs for the farmers in the area.
“I do this to make a living,” he said, but Leadley wants to help people when they need it and “at a decent price,” he added.