In 1947, Lyle Yost created the Hesston Manufacturing Company. The company specialized in farm equipment. The type of equipment included self-propelled windrowers and the StakHand hay harvester. In 1974, Hesston Company commissioned its first belt buckles, which became popular on the rodeo circuit and with collectors. In 1991, the American-based equipment manufacturer, AGCO Corporation, bought Hesston Corporation. Farm equipment is still manufactured in the city.