The ownership team and Weagant Farm Supplies Brockville-site management team (from left): Elwood Giroux, Christy Weagant-Griffin, Eric Ripley, Scott Weagant, Julie Black, Laird Weagant, Stacey Weagant and Rob Taylor.
Laird Weagant retires
Helped to steer family farm equipment empire for decades
Farmers Forum staff
BROCKVILLE — After 45 years in the farm equipment business, Laird Weagant has hung up his hat and parked his forklift for good. The Weagant Farm Supplies president and general manager of its Brockville Kubota dealership bid farewell on July 25, 2025, capping a career at a family enterprise that grew out of a humble general store to become a big equipment player in Eastern Ontario. He’s the last of his generation to retire from the operation, following the example of his brother, Bob, and brother-in-law Dave Black.
Laird’s official retirement press release lauds his hands-on approach. He jumped behind the parts counter to assist as needed and enjoyed troubleshooting technical issues with the service crew. Visitors to the yard would also catch him aboard his favourite rig, that trusty forklift.
Armed with a business degree from Western University and a stint in sales, Laird returned to work at Weagant Farm Supplies in 1980, taking the reins at the operation’s Brockville outpost two years later.
His late parents, Fred and Anita Weagant, kicked off the business in 1953 with a single Minneapolis Moline tractor rattling into South Mountain by railcar and offered for sale at their country store and gas station. The operation evolved into a full-out tractor dealership that over the years carried brands like Cockshutt, White, New Holland and Hesston. They expanded west of Winchester in 1976, Brockville in 1982 and spun off Kubota-focused Topline Trailers & Equipment, north of Winchester, in 1993.
The west Winchester site was sold to Delta Power Equipment in 2023.
Under Laird’s watch, the Brockville team thrived and maintained year-round jobs —a feat he counted as his proudest win. He championed professional development, served on the Ontario Apprenticeship Board and pushed for the return of agricultural equipment technician training to Eastern Ontario. He also sat on Kubota’s national dealer board.
In other career highlights, he was part of Weagant Farm Supplies’ response to the 1998 ice storm when the operation became a generator lifeline hub for many. During the 2002 western Canada drought, Laird spearheaded hay shipments to those hard-hit farmers.
The torch now passes to Laird’s son Scott Weagant, cousin Stacey Weagant, and Julie Black — each with 25-plus years in the biz — as equal third-gen owners. Backed by managers Elwood Giroux (sales), Eric Ripley (parts), Rob Taylor (service), and Christy Weagant-Griffin (HR), they’re geared up to keep the engines running.
