How Resource Auction and AcrePro Help Farmers Navigate Change
In agriculture, change is constant.
Markets shift. Equipment evolves. Farms grow larger, consolidate, or transition to the next generation. And for many producers, the biggest financial decisions they will ever make involve land and equipment.
That’s where businesses like Resource Auction and AcrePro come in.
Together, the two companies provide farmers with expertise in both farmland and equipment transactions under one roof. They help with buying land, selling machinery, transitioning into retirement, or figuring out what to do with inherited farmland. The partnership between auction veteran Dennis Biliske and farmland specialist David Gorder gives clients a one-stop shop.
But the story behind these businesses begins decades earlier.
When we leave a farm after an auction, we want those people to feel like we did everything we could for them.”
A 17-Year-Old Auctioneer
Dennis Biliske didn’t just grow up around auctions. He practically lived at them.
“As a kid,” Biliske said, “I was a passenger on a voyage to every auction within 200 miles.”
He accompanied his father to cattle sales, farm liquidations, and equipment auctions across the region. On the drive home, the real education began.
“He would tell me everything that went right and everything that went wrong that day,” Biliske said. “How the auctioneer handled things, what could have been done better, what worked.”
After years of watching and listening, those lessons stuck.
By 1985, at just 17 years old, Biliske started building what would eventually become Resource Auction—over the past 40 years, Biliske has operated with “numerous alliances and affiliations” before founding Resource Auction.
The timing was challenging. Agriculture was entering one of its most difficult economic periods in decades. Farms were consolidating, and many producers were forced to liquidate equipment or leave farming entirely
But where others saw hardship, Biliske saw opportunity
“The harder you worked, the luckier you got,” he said.
From the beginning, his approach was different.
Instead of simply showing up on auction day, Biliske focused on presentation and preparation. Equipment was washed and cleaned. Machinery was carefully lined up and displayed. Marketing lists were built and expanded. Even early computer clerking was adopted well before many competitor
At the time, those ideas were uncommon.
“Back then, you’d go to an auction, and the equipment might still be in its working clothes,” Biliske said. “We thought, if you’re selling something valuable, shouldn’t it look the part?”
The attention to detail paid off quickly.
By his early twenties, Biliske had built a thriving auction business serving farmers across multiple states.
A Philosophy Built on Teamwork
Biliske emphasizes he never saw the business as a solo effort. Employees, partners, and collaborators were always considered part of a shared effort.
“I never say people work for us,” Biliske said. “They work with us.”
That team mentality helped Biliske grow rapidly, particularly during the busy spring auction season.
At one point, the company conducted daily auctions for weeks at a time, moving from farm to farm across the region.
“It wasn’t unusual to do auctions every day from late February through April,” Biliske said. “Those were long days. But, when you enjoy what you’re doing, it doesn’t really feel like work,” he says.
Lessons From Around the World
Biliske’s career eventually took him far beyond the Midwest.
Beginning in 1999, he began working overseas as a lead auctioneer for an Asian company, conducting equipment auctions throughout Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
The experience proved transformative.
“It changed the way I looked at communication,” Biliske said.
Working with buyers who spoke limited English forced him to slow down and ensure everyone understood the details of every transaction.
“We had to be clear and precise,” he said. “You had to make sure everybody understood the deal.”
Those lessons carried back into his work in North America and improved how he communicated with both buyers and sellers.
The international travel also left a deeper impression
“It opened my eyes to how people live in other parts of the world,” he said. “You realize how fortunate we are here.”
Enter AcrePro
While Resource Auction was expanding in the equipment world, another agricultural business was taking shape.
In 2018, David Gorder and his wife Annie launched a farmland brokerage focused entirely on agricultural real estate.
Today that business operates as AcrePro, specializing in farmland sales, buyer representation, and land management for absentee landowners.
“I’m passionate about land and farming,” he said. “That’s what I know.”
Many of the clients AcrePro worked with were farmers approaching retirement or families inheriting farmland. Their situations were rarely simple.
Some wanted to sell land. Others wanted to keep the land but no longer manage it. Many had equipment to sell but weren’t sure where to start.
That overlap between land transitions and equipment sales eventually created a natural connection between Gorder and Biliske.
A Partnership Built on Trust
Long before the two businesses officially joined forces, Dennis Biliske and David Gorder had already crossed paths.
“I’m passionate about land and farming.
That’s what I know.”
Gorder remembers the moment clearly.
He was preparing for his first land auction, and the pressure was building.
“It was about two weeks away,” Gorder said. “I was nervous. I kept checking everything, every detail, just making sure I wasn’t missing something.”
A friend offered a simple suggestion.
“Call Dennis Biliske.”
At the time, Biliske was already a well-established figure in the auction industry. Gorder wasn’t sure what to expect, but he picked up the phone anyway.
They ended up talking for more than an hour.
“He was reassuring and encouraging,” Gorder said. “He asked questions about what I was planning and talked through the process with me.”
“I could tell he was serious,” Biliske said. “He was asking questions. People who ask questions want to learn.”
That first call established a level of respect between the two men. Years later, it would also lay the foundation for a partnership.
The two eventually joined forces about five years ago, combining their strengths in a way that made sense for farmers navigating major transitions.
Biliske brought decades of experience in equipment auctions and asset sales. AcrePro brought deep expertise in farmland transactions and land management. Together, they could help clients address the full picture.
“A lot of our clients have both land and equipment,” Gorder said. “But those are two completely different processes.”
For farmers approaching retirement, the decisions can be complex. Some may want to sell everything. Others want to keep farmland in the family while liquidating equipment. Still others inherit land and need help managing or leasing it.
By working together, the companies help clients build a strategy that fits their specific situation.
“We really try to be trusted advisors,” Gorder said. “There’s no cookie-cutter approach.”
Instead, the team spends time understanding each client’s goals before recommending a plan.
“Every situation is different,” he said.
The Emotional Side of Auctions
While auctions are often seen as financial transactions, they can also carry deep emotional weight.
For many farmers, an auction represents the closing chapter of a lifetime spent working the land.
Biliske understands that personally.
Early in his life, his own family experienced a farm auction after his father passed away. Later, after farming for a few years himself, he held another auction to transition away from that operation.
“You wake up the next day and the sheds are empty,” he said. “Your yard is empty. All your treasures are gone. And then you think about what the heck you’re going to do.”
For farmers without a succession plan, that moment can be difficult.
“A lot of people think they’re ready for it,” Biliske said. “But emotionally, they’re not.”
That’s why communication and preparation are such important parts of the process.
The team works closely with sellers long before the auction takes place to help them understand the timeline, expectations, and possible outcomes.
“We spend a lot of time making sure people know what’s going to happen,” Biliske said. “When we leave a farm after an auction, we want those people to feel like we did everything we could for them.”
A Business Transformed by Technology
For decades, when an auction took place, farmers and neighbors gathered in a yard or equipment lot. An auctioneer stood on a trailer or platform. Buyers raised their hands to bid.
But in recent years, technology has dramatically changed how auctions operate.
Biliske began experimenting with online bidding and simulcast auctions long before many competitors adopted the technology. That early investment proved critical when the world changed almost overnight in 2020.
When the COVID-19 pandemic halted public gatherings, traditional auctions suddenly became impossible.
“We had done hundreds of online auctions before that,” Biliske says. “We were ready. The hardest part wasn’t the technology. It was the social side.”
For generations of farmers, the auction day itself had been a milestone event.
Neighbors gathered. Friends stopped by. It was a moment of recognition for decades of work.
When auctions moved online, that tradition disappeared.
Still, the benefits of digital bidding are evident.
Instead of a few hundred people standing in a farmyard, online auctions opened the door to thousands of potential buyers.
Auctions could run continuously for days instead of just a few hours.
And bidders could participate from anywhere.
“Now the auction is open 24 hours a day,” Biliske said. “Seven days a week.”
The Power of Reach
One of the biggest advantages Resource Auction offers sellers is its large and active bidder network.
With the advent of online auctions, the company has built a following of tens of thousands of registered bidders who regularily participate in its auctions.
That audience is the result of consistent marketing and communication.
“When you’re selling equipment online, photos and information become everything,” Biliske said.
Buyers may never see the equipment in person. Instead, they rely on detailed listings, high-quality photography, and accurate descriptions.
That’s where strong marketing becomes essential.
The company’s marketing efforts are led by Kristi Lefebvre, who oversees marketing and promotion for the company’s auctions—an effort that includes everything from digital listings to print materials and industry marketing programs.
Her work has earned awards from both state and national auctioneering associations.
And more importantly, it helps ensure sellers receive maximum exposure.
“If people can’t see what you’re selling, they’re not going to bid on it,” Biliske said.
A great deal of coordination happens behind the scenes at the companies, where many individuals play a role in creating a smooth and well-executed experience for clients.
“It takes a village,” Biliske said. “We work with excellent sales and account reps, auction coordinators, data entry staff, photographers, set up people, admin staff, collections people, and so many others that I’m thankful for.”
Helping Farmers Plan the Next Chapter
At the center of both businesses is the goal to help farmers navigate major financial decisions.
For some clients, that means selling equipment.
For others, it means buying or selling farmland.
Often, it involves both
“Land and equipment go hand in hand,” Gorder said. “And we’re able to help people with both sides of that.”
The combined expertise of AcrePro and Resource Auction allows the team to guide clients through transitions that might otherwise feel overwhelming. It also allows them to approach those decisions with a long-term perspective.
That philosophy has helped the partnership grow while maintaining the same principles that built the original auction business decades ago. Hard work, honesty, and respect for the people they serve are still at the center of everything.
And even after over forty years in the auction industry, Biliske still finds the work rewarding.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “you’re helping people move forward.”
Resource Auction Dennis Bilske & Associates
rourceauction.com
Facebook | /resourceauction
Instagram | @resourceauction
AcrePro Sell Land | Buy Land
acrepro.com
Facebook | /acrepro
Instagram | @acrepro.fargm.agency
