"THEY ARE VERY QUIET AND COMFORTABLE TO WORK IN."

Ross Dickins has spent the past decade refining the art of windrowing canola. What started as a contract job, windrowing the odd crop in the Riverina, has now become a serious business that's seen Ross, his wife Prue and four children up sticks from Berrigan in NSW and move to Willaura in western Victoria.

“I had been contract windrowing in the Western District for about 10 years and last year I was offered full-time employment on a property at Willaura,” Ross said. “We moved in April but still do the contract windrowing, both in Victoria and the Riverina.”

Ross uses a MacDon M150 self-propelled windrower for the canola work. He also windrows some cereals for dairy customers and has cut oats and straw for the export market. According to Ross, the MacDon does an excellent job. The M150 is Ross’s fifth MacDon and he said it now came standard with many features that had previously been optional extras.

“The past two years have seen a massive change in the design of the MacDons,” Ross said. “The current models are bi-directional, with an operator console that rotates within the cabin. They are hydrostatic drive and the controls are pretty much all electronics over hydraulics, which allows excellent and precise adjustment of the machine to suit the crop. They are very quiet and comfortable to work in as well.”

Ross bought the self-propelled windrower through Western Plains Motors, Rokewood, owned by Anton Parrot. Ross said Anton did a good job of servicing and supporting the windrower and was very knowledgeable about the intricacies of the MacDon.