Visiting farms, factories and the famed Farm Progress Show in Iowa on the 14-day Case IH Axial-Flow USA Tour was an eye-opening experience for 21 Australian Axial-Flow combine owners.

They joined four dealer staff and three Case IH representatives on the tour, which provided access to leading global research and world class manufacturing while travelling the USA. The trip was open to customers who forward ordered an Axial-Flow combine earlier this year.

After visiting the state-of-the-art Axial-Flow combine production factory in Grand Island, Nebraska, Victorian farmer and harvesting contractor Brent Morrish was impressed by the investment in industry leading technologies and the innovation of the Case IH designs, as well as the new models coming onto the market next year.

“I have wanted to visit the Grand Island Case IH factory since I purchased my first Case IH combine 17 years ago and it didn’t disappoint.

“I was amazed that every machine is custom made to order, with such a high attention to detail. The combination of smooth assembly lines all functioning together to produce such a high quality machine was amazing. And the amount of actual ‘hands on’ work completed by the manufacturing team was interesting as well. 

“The entire workforce at the Grand Island plant, from the Plant Manager to the manufacturing workers on the floor, were dedicated to excellence and were all so passionate about their job and Case IH as a company,” Brent said.

“We have ordered a bigger machine than we have purchased in the past, moving from a 7088 to an 8230 Axial-Flow combine, and I’m really looking forward to the increased technology when we begin harvest in early October.

“The whole trip really confirmed my confidence in the quality of Case IH machinery – it’s no wonder there is so much demand.”

But the tour wasn’t all business for Brent: “Not only did I leave with a better understanding of Case IH as a global company, but I also made friendships with Australian farmers that will probably last forever,” Brent said.

For New South Wales farmer David Barlow, the farm visits were another highlight: “It was fascinating to see how American farmers do things and I have been able to pick up a few ideas to take home. There’s a lot of highly productive land in the USA so it’s a little bit different than our farm at Jerilderie, but the basic business principles are the same.

“And the farmers we met on the tour went out of their way to show us around their farm. The grain storage facility at Mill Farms, Fargo was very impressive and included a large scale grain dryer – something we don’t have a huge demand for in Australia, due to the lower moisture rate in our grain, but still very interesting to see.”