Published: September 19, 2008 11:29 am            

Field day offers farmers chance to test out the big rigs

Originally published in the Sept. 19, 2008, print edition.

Getting behind the wheel was the focus of last month’s AGCO Challenger Days at the Scott Gerdes farm near Clara City.

With a dozen different pieces of equipment available, farmers did just that driving the new 4-wheel drive Challenger tractors, the Challenger track-type tractors, the RoGator and TerraGator sprayers, even the 670 Challenger combine.

“Getting the chance to actually drive the equipment is what farmers really appreciate about these events,” said Connor Bergen, Ziegler Ag Division marketing spokesman. Producers could also question the sales reps on hand. Similar events were held in Iowa and Wisconsin.

In 2001, Caterpillar sold their ag line to AGCO, which manufactures the Challenger tractor series at its Jackson plant and most of which are factory equipped with Cat engines. AGCO now markets worldwide; the Challenger tractors are especially popular in Europe, Bergen said.

A rapidly growing market for AGCO is crop sprayers. In July 2007, they took on direct sales of the AgChem RoGator and TerraGator units. Traditionally this equipment was sold mostly to commercial applicators, especially farm co-ops, but big operators are adding this specialized equipment also.

Big power

What separates the Challenger line from other brands? Highest horsepower ratings in the industry, according to Ziegler representative Corey Christensen, a matter of torque curve and lugging capacity. All Challenger track and 4-wheel-drive machines are built with Caterpillar powertrains and Caterpillar-designed undercarriages.

Though wheel tractors still dominate the industry, Ziegler representative Brian Fuller said that in southern Minnesota track-type units are becoming increasingly popular. AGCO’s decision to build the wheel tractor stemmed from the fact that nationwide there is a huge 4-wheel drive market.

The biggest Challenger rig this year has 570 horsepower. All engines are turbo powered and with improved fuel efficiency. “The Cat Tier-3 off-road engines deliver better fuel efficiency so we’re getting along well with the Tier 3 engines,” Christensen said.

Biodiesel fuels, up to B20, work in the Challenger series. Lease financing is becoming a popular choice with these rigs, and the Challenger finance team will work with individual growers to do a ‘‘best fit” plan for each.

Hi-tech electronics

You don’t talk power farming these days without talking about the electronic components. With AGCO that includes their Auto Guide System, a factory-installed unit with a full compliment of options, from yield monitors to sprayer controls to row-guidance while planting to record keeping on each field. Ziegler is also a Trimble Ag Leader provider, an electronic guidance-records system for farm equipment.

Accuracy of guidance systems is the buyer’s option, ranging from decimeter accuracy on down to centimeter. About 90 percent of the Challenger tractor series are now sold with the electronic package as a factory-installed unit. That includes the Night Breaker Xenon light package (High Intensity Discharge) available for all Challenger power units.

Booming sales

With ag commodity prices staying strong, farm equipment sales are booming in North America. Europe and South America, especially Brazil, have also become much stronger markets for the AGCO line, Bergen said. Caterpillar has a worldwide dealer network so AGCO tractor sales are an outgrowth of this network.

He indicated that nationwide about 80 percent of Challenger sales are still track units, but the new lineup of 4-wheel-drive tractors is rapidly changing the track-versus-wheel ratio. For the discriminating tractor driver, Challenger offers leather seats with built-in electronic heating.

The 865 and 875 model series track machines, compared with a 4-wheel drive 965 and 975 models, run about 10 percent more retail listed in the $270,000 to $280,000 range.

When you invest that much money into a tractor, how much lifetime are you buying? “We know there are older tractors in the Legacy series with 20,000-plus hours and still running. All of our bigger engines and power trains in our ag lineup are also used in the heavy equipment world and here is where we see preventive-maintenance beginning at the 15,000-hour mark. You’re buying a lot of usage time when you buy these units,” Christensen said.

        

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