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MacDon Performance Stories - Churchill Equipment

For 70 years, Churchill Equipment has helped farmers maximize their investments. Their partnership with MacDon in developing the R1 FR ensures those same values drive performance in the field.

Invested in Performance

For 70 years, Churchill Equipment has helped farmers maximize their investments. Their partnership with MacDon in developing the R1 FR ensures those same values drive performance in the field.

Churchill Equipment has been delivering value to their customers for 70 years and helping MacDon develop the R1 FR to deliver value as well.

For more than 70 years, Churchill Equipment Company in Montana has built a reputation as a family-owned AGCO dealer that offers the best service and machinery to its customers. And for almost half of that time, a relationship with MacDon has been an integral part of that mission.

According to some longtime MacDon employees, in the late 1980s, Churchill Equipment became the second dealer in Montana and one of the first 20 or so throughout the entire United States. Throughout the '90s, Churchill Equipment began testing for MacDon, and things have continued in the same vein since.

"We've had a long relationship with MacDon. I think maybe one of the longest than anything else… Back in the day, we sold the most machines several years in a row for MacDon; we have a long history with MacDon being part of what we do," says Sam Wielenga, who works in sales at Churchill Equipment.

"One of the owners, Keith (Moss), has been a MacDon service technician for pretty much his whole career here. He's now one of the owners but he's still out on the shop floor servicing and taking care of MacDons. He knows the product better than maybe MacDon," laughs Wielenga.

One of the unique things Wielenga appreciates about Churchill Equipment's long-standing relationship with MacDon is the company's willingness to hear and accept feedback about its products. So, when Churchill Equipment got to test the R1 FR Front Mount Rotary Disc Series (13 ft. and 16 ft.) in 2022, they were keen to offer their candid thoughts on its performance.

"MacDon has always been very open to hearing our thoughts and our input… we definitely have appreciated with this MacDon FR that they have valued our input, and I love the fact that I've been able to talk to Garrett Malkowich (Product Manager at MacDon), and say, 'Hey, this is what we're experiencing out in the field, can you change this? Can you do this?' And that's fun," says Wielenga

"MacDon's a smaller company, we're a small company, so that's always a valuable dynamic that I appreciate."

Malkowich says he hears from the aforementioned Keith Moss regularly – sometimes as often as monthly if it's during the busy season — about any current products they're testing, offering feedback when needed. Specifically, with the R1 FR, Wielenga has brought some excellent insights to his attention.

And what exactly was that feedback?

"Some initial ones in the first year were around the windrow formation. So we implemented a forming shield that goes underneath the three-point to reduce debris buildup and help crop flow underneath the tractor tires," Malkowich says.

"Some of their feedback from this past year (2024) was more along the lines of the header position regarding the Fendt tractors they have. So, we've created a kit to reposition the header for one of the model numbers that holds the three-point header a bit closer. They've also talked to us about the robustness of the design for our auxiliary lift components, which we've already made changes to and are looking at testing some more to improve it even further in the future… getting that feedback from them was pretty valuable."

As Malkowich mentioned, in 2024, two years after the initial testing phase, the folks at Churchill Equipment spent a summer demoing the R1FR around their region. They had even more time to get to know the ins and outs of this machine – the way it cuts, the way it lays, its speed and its efficiency in several contexts. They then outlined all of their thoughts in a thorough review posted on YouTube near the end of the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjWogi_mKJQ

"Long story short, this works. It really does," Wielenga says at the top of the video before spending more than 12 minutes detailing his experience running the R1 FR front mount, in addition to the paired pull-type. He reiterated the same opinion over the phone from Montana last month.

"One of the biggest reasons I'm so pumped about this product is when you combine it with a Fendt (tractor), it's just unstoppable. I mean, it is so wonderful to use," Wielenga says.

"In the U.S. with alfalfa, we've got 16 feet, and we have 13 feet, and that's where the self-propelled is. And so your windrow widths and all of that have to be consistent," he explains, making a comparison to Europe's triple-mower setup for grass.

"So when we first saw this concept, you're able to run these machines, essentially you're running two self-propelled swathers, either 16- or 13-feet wide, and you're running them side by side with one operator. And we all know how easy it is to find good help. So there you go: efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. That's the first thought that crossed our mind, like, 'Man, look how much hay you can knock down in the same way that you're doing it with a self-propelled, and you're not interrupting your way of doing it like a triple windrower does."

"It's a lot about the simplicity of the job overall. Like Sam said with the triple mowers, that changes every aspect of the post-cutting-hay operation," adds Skyler Dyksterhouse, a product specialist at Churchill Equipment.

"Your raking changes, the drying changes. This can be added in or demoed in our case without changing anything else. We could just show up, show them how it cuts, do everything, and then they're back to everything they had before. We don't need to truck in different rakes and all sorts of other stuff."

Anecdotally, Dyksterhouse offered the example of a customer who did not care about windrow width or quality; he just needed his hay down before a custom chopper crew was expected to come just a few hours later. Churchill Equipment came over with the R1 FR header and pull-type and had 90 acres done in about two hours, much to their customer's shock and delight.

"The customer called us and was like, 'Hey, how far are you?' And we're like, 'Well, we're done!'" laughs Dyksterhouse.

When speaking with customers about the R1 FR, Wielenga says he regularly fields questions about the comparison to self-propelled windrowers in terms of efficiency. He is honest in his response, which focuses on which type of efficiency his customers are asking about, as there are pros and cons, and give and take, depending on what they want to prioritize.

"The question people ask, "Does it cut as good as a self-propelled?' Well, the cut quality is, but you can't replace a zero-turn lawnmower with a push lawnmower. Yes, the self-propelled is much more efficient if you compare one machine to the next one, but the whole argument comes into play: what do you do when the swather shuts off? And so that's where it's the give and take. If you're okay with not being as efficient as a self-propelled, but still doing very well, well then that's going to fit your demographic on your farm or ranch. If you're not, then it just doesn't," says Wielenga.

"There's no argument that self-propelled will always be more efficient one-to-one. The moment you do the double setup where you're pulling, there's no argument. It'll be so much more efficient. Even just the windrow width on a self-propelled, you can make your windrow much wider with an FR going under a tractor. There's no question there. But it all comes back to, do you want something you can use year round?"

"It also depends on how you're looking at it because from a fuel economy standpoint, that type of efficiency, the tractor, is probably twice as good as a self-propelled one. It burns half as much fuel," adds Dyksterhouse.

"Turning around after your pass, in the headland, that's something that's not as efficient, but then going down the road with these Fendt tractors, not all brands do this, but they ride, they drive like a Cadillac. And you can slap one of these headers on the front of it, there is no question about being confident running down a busy road with this header on the front of this tractor, from the standpoint of going around mailboxes, pedestrians, whatever. If you've ever run a self-propelled machine down the road, they are a little interesting sometimes."

If there is one thing Wielenga and Dyksterhouse would like potential customers to take away from Churchill Equipment's thorough testing and demoing of the R1 FR, it's to really consider the return on investment.

As they explain it, for farms that don't produce a lot of hay, the setup with the R1 FR allows them to maximize their investment in a tractor and the header rather than a self-propelled windrower. When they're not cutting, that tractor can be used for other tasks year-round, whereas a swather would likely sit in the shed unused for nine months a year while they're still making payments on it.

And if a customer is looking to knock down hay, cutting with two 16-foot units is "phenomenal."

"My passion is making farm operations more efficient. If I can see areas that can legitimately make a farm operation more efficient, I want to present it to them. And I believe the return on your investment over the long haul, depending on your size, is more advantageous (with the FR) than doing a self-propelled. We talked about self-propulsion as a luxury; if you can afford it, it's great, but it's not necessarily for your operation; it may not be the wisest investment," says Wielenga.

"If you're actually concerned about return on investment, then you need to consider this product. If that is a legitimate statement that you make, that you are concerned and you want to be more efficient, then you have to consider it."

Just a few weeks ago, Churchill Equipment posted on its social media accounts about a new and improved logo design. A horse pulls a four-coloured platform – the hues a nod to some of the iconic companies Churchill Equipment has worked with – with the motto, "We try harder," underneath.

"The pulling horse is more than just an emblem; it embodies our motto: 'We try harder.' It represents the perseverance, grit, and dedication that drives us to deliver the best service and equipment, and it reflects our unwavering commitment to the farming community," says the social-media post.

And it's that motto and those values that continue to align Churchill Equipment with MacDon, which Wielenga and Dyskterhouse feel represents the best of what the farming-machinery community has to offer, both in terms of the equipment itself but also the culture and community of the company.

"Absolutely. There's no question there," responds Wielenga, when asked if he considers MacDon to be included in that group of top-tier companies.

"Let's just say this when we put new wraps on our service trucks and sales trucks and everything, as a dealership we joke about how many different brands we actually support, it's like in the three-digit range," adds Dyksterhouse.

"And obviously you're not going to slap those names on everything you have, from coats to hats to pickups, but the main ones that do get put on those types of things are the ones we truly believe is what carries our dealership, and MacDon is one of those."