Dolk Tractor Company in Rio Vista is Celebrating its 75th Year in Business in 2023

A family-owned business operating in the Sacramento River Delta Region since 1948, Dolk Tractor was founded by Seth Dolk and his son Stanley. Both father and son previously worked at a Salinas tractor dealership.

Stanley had a brother, Myron Dolk that was dying in captivity as a POW in WW2. He was posthumously awarded a purple heart by the military for his service and his parents Seth and his wife were given a cash settlement for his death while serving. He was indeed a war hero. The settlement was used to open their own dealership.

A tractor line, Oliver, that was formed in 1929 advised them to open a dealership in Rio Vista.  Upon visiting Rio Vista, Stanley and Seth fell in love with the city by the river . The Rio Vista area has been a fertile farming region for decades. With the help of Stanley’s father-in-law John MacMichael, Seth and Stanley built the building for their dealership themselves on Front Street (where it still stands today). At the time of opening, this small building housed the sales, parts, and service departments.

This was a really risky move on their part.  There was already a tractor business down the street from them named Gordan Hansen.  They only sold the International brand.  In the late 1990’s Gordan Hansen closed the business, due to the fact that none of the family members wanted to continue the business.
By 1960, Seth had retired and Stanley had taken over the business full time. During this time, the Oliver brand continued to grow in popularity.

As Dolk Tractor grew, Stanley decided to expand his facilities – adding a showroom and offices to the original building.
A separate building, for the service department, was built as well. After more than a decade of building a successful business, Stanley’s son Rod joined the Dolk Tractor team.

During the 1970’s, the Dolk’s saw their business change. The White Corporation bought out Oliver, so Dolk Tractor was able to take on White’s tractors and planters. Needing a line of high horsepower tractors, Dolk Tractor decided to add the popular Versatile tractor line to meet the changing needs of the farming community.

By 1981, Stanley had retired and Rod expanded the company with a more diverse product line.    The Kubota and Hesston tractor lines and the Honda generator brand were added. At this time, Kubota was a newcomer in the American tractor industry that specialized in compact tractors. Although primarily added for their tractors, the Hesston line was taken on and later would become a world leader in the hay industry. This provided Dolk Tractor with a top quality brand of balers and swathers. A greater selection of larger tractors was made available after the Ford Corporation’s tractor division bought out Versatile Tractor. In 1985, Rod’s wife Vicky joined the Company as the office manager.

During the 1990’s, the Kubota line became increasingly popular, helping Dolk Tractor respond to the needs of small ranch owners. Like the decades before, Dolk Tractor would have to adjust to their brands changing names. The Agco Corporation purchased both White and Hesston, and New Holland bought out Ford’s tractor division. By the end of the nineties, Dolk Tractor provided a diverse line of equipment to meet every farming need, including Kubota Tractors, New Holland Tractors, and Agco Tractors and hay equipment.

In 2003, Rod and Vicky’s son Rick joined the Dolk Tractor team–making him the fourth generation Dolk to work for the dealership.  Both Rod and Rick were thinking of going in other directions after college. They both enjoyed living, working, and raising a family in Rio Vista and decided this was what we should be doing.

In 2014, Dolk Tractor expanded its partnership with New Holland and took on their hay product line which includes Windrowers, Balers, Manure Spreaders, and new to Dolk Tractor–Balewagons. Although this product line expansion effectively ended their 66-year relationship with Agco/Hesston, Dolk Tractor was excited to consolidate its product line and add more products to its offering. In 2018, Dolk Tractor expanded their product offering even further with New Holland by adding their full Construction (CE) Line by offering Skid Steers, Track Loaders, and Mini Excavators.

With 13 employees, a few of them being there for over 40 years, a statewide customer base, and over 75 years of agricultural equipment experience.
Dolk Tractor has begun the 21st century as a respected dealer in this ever-changing marketplace. Together, the Dolk family is striving to continue providing the best and most diverse service they can provide.

While most tractor dealerships have 2-3 locations to serve different communities, Dolk has one. They did have a location for a short time in Vacaville,  from the later 80’s to early 90’s.

The Dolk family is very grateful for the support that they have received from the community for the last 75 years. It has been their pleasure to be of service.  Here’s to the next 75.