Say hello to South Country Equipment’s Dwaine Obst

South Country Equipment is your source for turf and utility equipment

By Dwaine Obst Photos Trina Melnyk & Tandem X Visuals

South Country Equipment has been a mainstay in the province’s agriculture sector for a long time. Did you know that they also provide turf and utility equipment?

Meet Dwaine Obst, your source for expert advice in turf and utility equipment.

Dwaine was born and raised at Yellow Grass, getting his first taste of property management looking after his family’s yard in town and on their hobby farm. “With my father’s ‘guidance’ and foundation of attention to detail and work ethic, I quickly realized the importance of how utilizing some effort and pride in these tasks would quickly pay off by using good tools,” says Dwaine.

In high school, he had opportunity to work for the Town of Yellow Grass as an assistant to his great uncle who was Town Foreman during the spring and summer. Dwaine mowed ditches, the park and sports grounds in addition to helping with all things related to managing the property within the town limits. “This is where I first learned the value of trying to achieve the standards set by not just my employer, but the town’s residents who easily kept that bar high,” he says.

Dwaine would eventually head to Regina, and due to multiple knee issues, he chose to study Horticulture Landscape Design and Maintenance. When he was done school, Dwaine was hired by the Wascana Golf & Country Club in Regina which he says was one of the most interesting and rewarding jobs and educational experiences he has had. “I worked on a 15-person maintenance team and after my first season there, I got the opportunity to study the condensed Turfgrass Management program at Olds College in Alberta,” he says. “For the next six years, I was honoured to spend each spring, summer and fall as a Maintenance Foreman helping to maintain all the focus and detail tasking involved with grooming one of the top private country club golf courses in Western Canada.”

His knee issues would persist and Dwaine moved into selling professional golf and sports field equipment for two different manufacturers and dealers over the next seven years. “Not only did I have the honour of working for and with my peers and over 120 golf courses in southern Saskatchewan, but I got to learn how other professionals in the industry performed their skills and craft as well.”

Dwaine’s phone would ring again, this time offering the opportunity to represent South Country Equipment Ltd. as a lawn and garden equipment representative. “It was the right time to bring all I had learned ‘home,’ he says.

Over the years, Dwaine has enjoyed presenting all of John Deere’s riding lawn equipment, commercial mowing equipment, utility vehicles, compact and utility tractors and implements to farms, urban acreages, and various forms of year-round property management equipment firms, schools, contractors, shopping malls and municipal/ governmental agencies.

This year marks his 16th year with South Country Equipment. “It has easily been the most rewarding and balanced experience ever,” says Dwaine. “I enjoy bringing all those years of learning the value of attention to detail, customer service and working on a team of specialists who all share the same passion for representing one of the most recognized and respected brands on the planet, as well as giving all of our customers the best possible experience when dealing with every facet of our business.”

Dwaine sees the sales component of his job description is completely secondary to his passion and vision that mirrors what South Country Equipment is all about: building a solid trusting relationship with every customer and following through with solutions for all of their property management needs with a superior efficient product, and unending support from his service and parts teams.

“It has been a truly amazing ride and I look forward to striving to improve my commitment to South Country and my customers for years to come,” says Dwaine.

Learn more at southcountry.ca, and find them on Highway #39 North in Weyburn from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday.