Pattison Agriculture’s chain of Deere ag equipment dealerships in Saskatchewan and Manitoba is preparing to cut one link.

The Prairie farm equipment sales and service arm of B.C.’s Jim Pattison Group announced Tuesday on its website and social media it will permanently close its dealership at Foam Lake, Sask. effective Dec. 31.

The Pattison store at Foam Lake, about 90 km northwest of Yorkton, was part of the Maple Farm Equipment chain before Pattison — Maple Farm’s majority owner since 2014 and sole owner since late 2016 — merged it with two other chains during 2017 to form the new operation.

The merger of the Maple Farm, JayDee AgTech and Nykolaishen Farm Equipment chains formed a 19-store network under the Pattison banner, with nine in eastern Saskatchewan, two in western Manitoba and eight in western Saskatchewan.

It also formed a cluster of seven stores from the three chains, all within less than 200 km of each other in eastern Saskatchewan, with Foam Lake roughly at its centre.

“At this time, it is with the sincerest regret that a difficult decision has been made to permanently close the Foam Lake store,” Pattison said Tuesday in its statement.

“By choosing to merge Foam Lake operations with nearby facilities, this will allow us to provide our customers with better and more comprehensive service and support as our industry evolves.”

Pattison added that even without a bricks-and-mortar facility it “will continue to hold a presence in the Foam Lake community” and to serve customers “at the highest standard at all other locations.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network