Fendt is taking over my area

[TomH]

On 4/6/2023 at 4:15 PM, EquipmentJunkie said:

I can believe it.  Fendt tractors almost exclusively pulling the big tanks around here.  Their transport speed doesn't hurt the cause either.

See them around my area too. What is the road speed? I followed them the other week on the way home from work. Tractor pulling 8 wheel tank and another behind it towing the pump and a pickup. They were hitting 45mph.

[Cattech]

I'd say that you're going to see more Fendt everywhere in the next few years. Once again Agco is shaking up their branding strategy in the US in the attempt to find more acceptance. I'll try to explain a little history and current line.

To start, Caterpillar sold the Challenger line to Agco back around 2000. This was also when the Challenger wheeled tractors were released, which were Massey Ferguson with yellow paint. While Cat built much of the componentry for track/4wd models (which has been largely phased out at this point) it has been an Agco product. 

The sale of Challenger was shortly after releasing Cat combine, a yellow painted Claas. Claas is not part of Agco. The "Cat combine" was Claas's first truly successful attempt to pull noticeable US market share. 

Cat dealers had the option to become Agco and Claas dealers. Both brands maintained yellow painted models for this dealer partnership. There's been controversy and confusion for 20 yrs having 2 brands, painted similar colors under the same dealer roof. There's yellow Massey combines that were sold alongside yellow Claas, and many consumers related them together. 

I have some customers who have been very loyal to the yellow painted Masseys, they seem to be solid tractors. Since the Lexion 500 series, Claas combine owners are as diehard fans as IH guys are for Axial Flow.

A couple years ago, Agco released the Challenger 1000 series, which were yellow painted large MFWD Fendt. A very impressive tractor.

I don't know if it's a concerted decision. Claas decided they had enough market acceptance to drop the yellow paint, they now are using their green, white, red known around the rest of the world. Agco has decided to relegate the Challenger name as a model designation for track tractors under the Fendt brand in green and red. All the yellow Massey tractors are now the familiar red, silver, gray. There's a little HP overlap but basically 17-200 hp is Massey, and 200 up is Fendt.

Even AgChem is being changed up, the sprayers are now Fendt Rogator in green/red/white.

I know very little about the Ideal combine, we haven't had one pass through my branch yet. 

I'm optimistic about the Fendt lineup. They are a spaceship when you first climb in one, but the little time I've driven them around the yard, I can easily see spending days on end in that cab. While there's not too many in the area yet, we haven't seen much in way of problems. 

 

[Cool1566]

There is now a dealer in my area of Western KY and getting to be more and more of a presence. The only thing that will hold them back is service/reliability. Same story as always. Brand is only as good as the dealer and support. They are some mean looking tractors for sure!

[jworley]

There’s a dealer here in South Georgia, they sell a lot of RoGators. There has been a few Challenger track tractors around and an occasional Challenger 1000 series( yellow Fendt). Now there’s a few green Fendts around. I recently saw three new ones sitting under the shelter of someone who has always worn green underwear.

JD has pretty much owned the row crop tractor market down here for 20 years. I hear lots of farmers talking about Fendt now. I’m surprised at how many I’ve seen considering there’s only one dealer here among dozens of Deere dealers.

 I have a neighbor who’s had a 1000 series challenger for several years, he had all green before that for decades.

[hobbyfarm]

Here in the land of small farms and custom work all of the manure haulers are mostly Fendt.  When we first moved here I had a guy on a Fendt with triple mowers mowing for me.  A pretty incredible machine.  I kind of think it had air brakes.  He ended up selling the mower and I decided to buy a well worn 12ft discbine.

We have a very good dealer.  The Fendt tractors that I personally know of have held up very well. 

[poor farmer/logger]

We have a fairly good agco dealer 11 miles from us that pushes the fendt line fairly hard. They don’t have a pile of tractors in the area but honestly the front wheel assist tractors aren’t as common here. Last year with the blockades and trucker convoy almost every tractor out on the road was a fendt. This winter my friends father in law had his tractor stolen. They’re in the vermillion area and a neighbor of his spied it going down the road about 40 miles away. They found it parked in a field later on not far from the hobbema reserve. Hardtail will know the area.  Thankfully they got it back with minimal damage. 
 

Fendt ideal combines have had a tough go of it around here. They might be starting to get the bugs worked out of them now though. You river from swift current traded a bunch of them into the John Deere dealer down there. They all ended up at Ritchie bros auction in Saskatoon.  Guys that have them seem to like them when they’re running. Unfortunately they’re not running more often then they are. 

[Cattech]

Interesting Fendt tidbits...

In the 1000 series, they have the equivalent of a differential steering unit between the front and rear axles. When you make a turn, it can drive the front wheels up to 15% faster than the rear so the front actually pulls you around the turn in headlands or such.

Also in the 1000's... no range transmission. 0 to 40 MPH without shifting. The tractor could also go much faster. If the load is light enough at full speed, the engine can drop to 1000 RPM and the trans will "overdrive" to maintain 40 mph. It's an odd feeling at first, you feel the tractor accelerating but hear the engine speed dropping. 

[Ihcubguy]

We got a big presence of them around Central PA with Mennonite custom operators. Local company that hauls manure and custom chops silage that has them I saw one pass by me while at the local jd dealer. I left the jd dealer about 5 or 10 minutes later and it took me 16 miles to catch up to that Fendt. It was a 900 series pulling a 3 axle tank with a manure pump being towed behind the manure tank. In between where I was and where I caught it is a long steep grade about maybe 2 miles long. I was thoroughly impressed of how far it had gotten ahead of me till I caught up to it. Definitely booked down the road.

[Super A_sepa]

I hada friend with a Fendt, it went 34 mph.     He liked the tractor and it worked well but he didn't use it enough to its capabilities so he sold it and bought an 8920 to replace it.     Doing some work to it now with him and he is amazed at what we have replaced and what it's cost. Keeps saying "if this was the Fendt it'd have cost this much more" and we have an excellent dealer for them in MM Weavers.   Well Weavers were excellent,  hopefully under the Agriteer name and merged with Binkley and Hurst it doesn't change. 

Most of the large manure haulers around here have switch to Fendts or the 1000 series Challengers.

[hobbyfarm]

1 hour ago, Super A_sepa said:

I hada friend with a Fendt, it went 34 mph.     He liked the tractor and it worked well but he didn't use it enough to its capabilities so he sold it and bought an 8920 to replace it.     Doing some work to it now with him and he is amazed at what we have replaced and what it's cost. Keeps saying "if this was the Fendt it'd have cost this much more" and we have an excellent dealer for them in MM Weavers.   Well Weavers were excellent,  hopefully under the Agriteer name and merged with Binkley and Hurst it doesn't change. 

Most of the large manure haulers around here have switch to Fendts or the 1000 series Challengers.

Hoping the dealers continue to be the same also.  I've only bought an ez trail nursery wagon and a few claas rake parts from mm but they were great.  On the ez trail they beat someone else by quite a bit. The service dept at Richland has always treated me very well.  I don't want to loose the service aspect.

[bitty]

3 minutes ago, hobbyfarm said:

Hoping the dealers continue to be the same also.  I've only bought an ez trail nursery wagon and a few claas rake parts from mm but they were great.  On the ez trail they beat someone else by quite a bit. The service dept at Richland has always treated me very well.  I don't want to loose the service aspect.

I think the service aspect of M M Weaver will be staying in the new company as they understand the importance of the customer being happy. A big part of the merger was Weaver wanted a better way to service customers in the Virginia direction. 

[Hydro70]

On 4/8/2023 at 6:52 AM, Red_Man said:

 Robbie, they have a big selection of equipment at the E'town store as well, it is on 31W South of Lincoln Parkway less than a mile.

Brother Charlie took a spot at the Fendt dealer ole friend and nolong rides up to your neck of the woods momore, hes loving it dont let him fool ya....haha

[Hydro70]

They keep a full lineup of equipment and big horsepower tractors, this dealer here in Columbia serves a big area of central and western Kentucky is I assume why they got all the big tractors and combines but Ive seen a large share of new Fendts on the farms out in the countyryside, one BTO has two or three all got metric big back rubber and loaders and the BTO beside him has a Fendt 360 vario, dualed up front and back, thats 360hp and he had two of them on the lot once awhiule back

[Jake19917561]

On 4/6/2023 at 8:49 PM, ray54 said:

I took a drive up the Salinas valley 2 weeks ago.  All vegetables all year 2 ,3, or 4 crops off the same acres with the leafy greens. Last I was there 4 or 5 years green and yellow was the winner by numbers. What really stood out no old H's and M's on pipe trailer, or the old Oliver's. With the clean air rules all really old stuff is gone.

One of the first big yards had 2 rubber tracked Fendt's with 3 or 4 JD of the same size. Very few Cat's anymore, and all I saw were rubber track. The only red was the quad track Case on big scraper to relevel fields. One place there 6 of them all up on a high point to keep away from the flood waters. A lot of blue in the mid size cultivating or harvesting tractors. But just no red in any brand in mid size tractors. Kind of a surprise as the Cat dealer has been strong and has the AGCO dealer for the Massey brand too. And none of the Fendt but the 2 big ones.

Here in Hollister they grow a lot of lettuce too, I actually see a lot of the quadtracs, here and going towards gilroy. Not sure going towards San Juan Bautista. Most of the mudders I see here are kubota, new hollands, and older IH. Used to see lots of D5 and D6 running but not anymore. 

[Hydro70]

[Hydro70]

Here's those pictures I said I was going to upload from my local Fendt/MF dealership