Joe Gruman was an implement dealer from 1972-1990, opening his own dealership in 1977, in Lamont, Iowa. Joe sold Glencoe tillage equipment, chisel plows, and cultivators; ShowCo green handling equipment; Tox-O-Wik grain dryers; Noble tillage equipment; Stihl chainsaws and string trimmers; KnipCo portable heaters; and several brands of grain transport machinery. The majority of Joe's business involved repairing almost any piece of equipment brought to his shop, including Deere machinery. Joe began to see a difference in sales around 1981 due to the recession. Joe believed the 1980 grain embargo, which caused grain bins to overflow, was used as leverage against Russia. Joe mentioned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture helped farmers build grain storage bins on their farms. He said many machine sheds were converted into grain storage bins. The government would then rent these buildings until they were paid for. Joe also partially attributed high interest rates, droughts, and the payment-in-kind program to the decrease in sales. During the early 1980s Joe could see the effects the recession was having on his community. Landowners would repossess land sometimes with a 50 percent decrease in value. Many implements, including one that had been in business for 100 years, were going out of business, because they could not afford to have equipment sitting around. Eventually, Joe began driving 50 miles rather than 20 miles to find parts for his implement, and often orders would be on a three to seven day backlog. Since Joe depended more on repairs than sales at his implement, he was often backed up two to six weeks in work, because farmers tended to repair their old equipment rather than buy new equipment. Joe estimated that 15 out of 100 of his customers left the farming business during the recession. Also, a small number of customers were unable to pay their bills, thus tying up profits. Fearing further economic troubles, Joe felt that at the age of 40 he needed to find a different job rather than waiting until later on in life. Another factor was that technology was advancing rapidly and the implement would require expensive analyzing equipment. Looking back now, Joe said he misses some aspects of the implement, such as public contact, friends, and providing a service to the community. In fact, Joe said that if he were to win the lottery tomorrow he would be back in the implement business.