For the past 55 years, the Banning family has been farming various crops in southwestern Arizona, starting with the more traditional cotton and corn, and now working mainly in hay on their nearly 2,800 acres.

Lee Banning Sr. was the one to start things up in 1970, and Lee Banning Jr. fondly recalls being involved in small ways as a young kid before getting more interested in rodeo and horses. Once he got done “playing cowboy,” as he describes it, he came back to the farm “100 per cent full time,” in order to start the passing of the torch before Lee Sr.’s retirement.

But the pivot to horses and retail hay was relatively early in the Banning’s farm timeline. It was already 30 years ago that hay became the focus, and 25 years ago when Lee Jr. and his wife bought their first feed store. Just three years ago, the pair added a second store to their roster, buying one for which they had previously supplied hay for two decades. About 75 per cent of the hay they grow gets sold through their own operations.

And in addition to those two stores, they currently also supply four other retail locations.

So, things are busy for the Bannings, but that’s just the way they like it.

Arizona is the perfect spot for growing hay for a few reasons, but largely because hay can be baled nearly year-round. “We bale hay in February all the way into December,” explains Lee Jr. “We have the perfect climate for it.”

For context, Gila Bend, Ariz. — where their land is — sees very little rain in a year and experiences extremely hot summer daytime temperatures.

“We irrigate, everything's flood irrigated,” says Lee Jr. “There's neighbors around me where my farm is, they're starting to use more linears and sprinklers and autonomous kind of gates that open and close. I haven't started down that road yet just because I got neighbors on both sides of me doing that, so I've got the luxury of waiting to see what's most efficient,” he laughs.

Efficiency is a word Lee Jr. thinks about in many aspects of his farm operation; whether that’s figuring out what irrigation system is going to be the best fit, or what machines to run in the fields and when. So when he saw the new MacDon R1 FR Front Mount Rotary Disc working in tandem with the R1 PT Pull-Type Rotary Disc, he knew right away it was something that would be a great fit for his operation.

“It's efficiency. I have one operator that can do the same amount of work as two machines, and it’s a lot more comfortable being inside the cab of a tractor. After operating it myself for several days, I just felt like it was very easy to operate. Being that you're in a tractor, you have a wider, better flotation tire. You're not as wore out at the end of the day,”  Lee Jr. says.

“We struggle with getting enough guys, so l could downsize to one operator and that was the biggest appeal for me. That one operator doubles efficiency. And back to the fact that I can run it on a tractor. I can put it on any tractor that's got a front three point and a PTO on it,” he says.  “I'm running mine on a Case Optimum, but I know guys that are running them on CLAAS’S. I don't know if anyone's on a John Deere yet, but I have that flexibility. I can put it on any tractor that's equipped right and go to work.”

“My dealer that I deal with is M&S Equipment and they provide me the best service with parts, service, everything I need, hands down compared to anybody around me. That's a big part right there,” explains Banning.

“So, when I learned about the prototype running around, I just squeezed my salesman like, ‘Hey, I want the first one!’ Just because I was tired of fighting labor, like I said. And I was tired of fighting machines.”

Released last year, MacDon’s R1 FR — a 2025 AE50 award winner — was designed with farmers just like the Bannings in mind to fill their specific needs. The R1FR provides high output with less necessary horsepower; it’s easy to attach to many different brands of tractors; and, when paired with the R1 Pull-Type, operators get twice the coverage in one pass — an impressive 32 ft. of cutting width.

And while there are other options that could compare with that output, mainly in the form of triple-mowers coming out of Europe, the way this combination of the R1FR and R1PT lays down well-formed, well-conditioned windrows is a key feature Lee Jr. sings the praises of.

“CLAAS and Krone and them guys have triple mowers, but they don't lay the windrow right for us when we're baling hay. Not in our border configuration, our rakes that we use, in our area. Now, in other areas, it might be completely different. But for us in this region, it's two 16-foot heads, so our rakes, our balers, everything lines up perfect. Whereas if you have a triple mower, you're laying down three windrows in 30-foot that are 8-foot windrows, your tractor is either driving on top of the windrow, regardless if you're using a rake or whatever you're using to move that to put it into a windrow. They don't line up perfect. This unit lines up perfect in a baling operation. Or even for the guys that are doing silage, you've got plenty of room. You're not driving over your crop when it's on the ground,” Lee Jr. explains.

Another literal selling point of the R1 FR/R1 PT combo is the versatility it provides; because the front-mount is compatible with numerous types and brands of tractors, unlike investing in a completely specified machine such as a windrower, it allows for that tractor to be used year-round for other tasks when not cutting. Additionally, Lee Jr. says being able to use the tractor adds longevity.

“I'd say for me the biggest part of that is my tractor ought to be able to last me 10,000 to 15,000 hours. So the traction unit, you know, I can rotate these mowers out and have longevity in my traction unit. Where for us, you get three, four thousand hours on a swather. They’re done, just because of the speeds that we're traveling across the fields and we can be 120 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the summer. High temperatures, so it's hard on them,” says Lee Jr.

And in terms of speed, Lee Jr. is pretty happy with what they are able to accomplish using the R1 FR/R1 PT on his Case Optimum.

“You know, we probably average 14 miles an hour. There are some fields we can cut at 16 or some we're cutting at 12, but on average, we're probably 14 miles an hour through the field… so he's cutting 30 to 40 acres an hour,” says Banning. “He's moving. Like, it's no joke. Once the field is opened up, yeah, he's just moving,” he laughs.

Between his previous use of a couple of MacDon windrowers, and current use of the paired R1 FR and R1 PT, Lee Jr. only has good things to say about the reliability and quality of MacDon products. Between his own experiences and word-of-mouth from other farmers in the area, the same conclusions have been drawn: MacDon just makes good machines.

“That's been my primary deal because we just had the swathers and then went into this push-pull, and I haven't had anything else. I mean, I've had a lot of friends run draper headers, different things, and I've just always seen that the MacDon product has been very reliable and seems to be better built than a lot of the competitors,” he says, adding that he often will talk-up his experiences with the R1 FR and R1 PT, offering others to come and see it for themselves,” he says.

“I have probably talked to 15 or 20 people about it across the country, and it's an open invitation. Come watch it, come drive it, come see it, because it's not a huge investment for what it is, and for what it gives in the efficiency and the time savings, I don't know what else you can even compare it to.

“You can add this to your operation. You don't have to completely change your raking or anything else. I've actually had few guys come out and run it. I encourage everybody to come see it,” he continues.

"This is starting its second season without any issues. I mean, we just change rock guards, skid plates, knives, and we keep cutting hay.”

To learn more about MacDon's R1 FR Series Front Mount Rotary Disc, click here or visit your local MacDon Dealer for more detail.