“When asked to do a job, say, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
--THEODORE ROOSEVELT, leader of the Roughriders during the Spanish-American War
HISTORY OF THE
Case IH Roughrider Dealer Network
Competition pays. So does cooperation. And coordination. Charging ahead with a powerful combination of all
three, Case IH dealers in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota have fueled individual dealership sales
and service growth plus increased overall market presence for more than 30 years.
“There must be a better way.”
key battle of the Spanish-American War in Cuba. “From the
In 1977, there were 82 International Harvester dealers
beginning, we’ve had excellent participation from dealers
in North Dakota. One was the state’s oldest implement
in the state, plus dealerships in northwestern Minnesota,
dealer—of any line: the former Arthur Mercantile on
who align nicely with our group with shared goals and
the eastern side of the state, at the time owned and
similar customer bases,” Jim says. “Dealers have come
operated by Jim Williams. He recalls: “At the 1977 annual
and gone, but the organization has remained strong.
Implement Dealers Convention, during our line meetings,
Right now I believe the Roughriders have 100 percent
our discussion turned to use of co-op advertising dollars
participation from dealers in our area.”
from the company. Some dealers were using the funds;
some weren’t. Some were running whole goods ads. We
all knew we were leaving co-op funds on the table. And
we knew there must be a better way.”
Across the state in Stanley, located 55 miles south
“Dealers have come and gone, but the
organization has remained strong. Right now
I believe the Roughriders have 100 percent
participation from dealers in our area.”
JIM WILLIAMS
of the Canadian border, Stanley Equipment’s owner
and operator Roger Gjellstad agreed. “We figured we
ought to pool our resources and advertise together,” he
says. “Keep in mind this was before emails, faxes, even
overnight express mail. We communicated through mail,
phone calls and our two meetings each year. The Board
Solid support
Also from the beginning, the Roughriders enlisted
and received support from Case IH. Roger explains:
sometimes met more frequently.”
“Case IH leaders participated in most of our summer
Roughriders unite
from dealership management to inventory, service
By 1978, the dealers had a plan. And a name: Case IH
Roughrider Dealer Network, recognizing the First U.S.
Volunteer Cavalry comprised of many North Dakota
soldiers and led by Theodore Roosevelt, which bravely won a
meetings. We discussed many issues over the years,
and employees. Sharing ideas really helped all of us.
And Case IH leaders like Jim Irwin provided valuable
information—and learned what issues were affecting
dealers, too.”
The company listens
management. AdFarm also negotiates and purchases
This unique dealer–company dialogue worked both
media and produces the print advertisements and radio
ways. Jim Williams recalls a summer Roughrider
commercials for the Roughriders.
dealer meeting in Devils Lake that Jim Irwin attended.
“It was the early 1990s and Jim announced Case IH’s
plans to cease production of the 8500 air drill. At the
time, that was our only seeding implement—obviously
“AdFarm has facilitated our efforts ever
since and they’ve been a good partner.”
ROGER GJELLSTAD
prior to adding the Concord drills to our lines. Our
group was politely livid in explaining the challenges
that would result if the 8500 was withdrawn. To his
One of Roger’s favorite ads
credit, Jim went back and changed those plans.”
A cornerstone of the Roughrider advertising program
has been its testimonial ads, featuring farmers in
Roger adds: “Case IH was also key in developing and
North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota who own
administering the process to regularly gather dues
and operate Case IH equipment. “Those ads are very
from each of our Roughrider member dealerships. We
popular among farmers,” Roger says. “Other farmers
started that in 1978, and it remains an efficient, fair
know those words are authentic. One of my favorites
way to keep our group’s finances in order.”
was produced in the 1990s. We’d sold a good customer
a 9380 four-wheel-drive tractor and a new 48-foot
Roger and Jim have both served on the group’s
Concord air till drill. At the time, both were made in North
Board of Directors numerous times. “We’ve had
Dakota. The ad called it the “North Dakota Farming
many dealers step up to Board positions to provide
System.” That ad helped all of us sell more tractors
good leadership and direction, especially in changing
and more drills.”
agriculture,” Roger says.
Coordination is key
“Early on, we also needed someone to coordinate
our plan,” Jim recalls. “At first we hired an advertising
agency from Minneapolis, but they weren’t a good fit.
Then we met the team at Simmons Advertising in Grand
Forks. They have facilitated our efforts ever since, and
they’ve been a good partner.” Simmons merged with
other agencies to become AdFarm, and the agency
works with the dealers and Case IH to handle dealer
billing, co-op advertising funds and overall budget
“The stories give us more bang for our
buck and fit our seasons, agricultural
practices and shifting customer priorities.
We’re always looking for a farmer with a
good story about our products.”
JIM WILLIAMS
“We switched because these are better combines.”
Kevin, Kraig and Jeff Ordahl – OutlOOK, Mt
Brothers Kevin and Kraig Ordahl farm with their dad Wayne and Kevin’s
son Jeff in northeastern Montana. They grow durum wheat, peas and
lentils. In 2008, the Ordahls traded their John Deere 9750 and 9650
STS combines for two new Case IH 7120 combines with 40-foot flex
draper headers.
Why the change?
“One of our neighbors switched to new Case IH combines a year prior,” Kevin
says. “I rode with him and liked the combine. The cab is bigger with better sight
lines and the 40-foot flex draper head is a big advantage.”
With their former John Deere combines, the Ordahls needed both 36-foot rigid
heads for durum and 30-foot auger-style flex heads for peas and lentils. Now,
the Ordahls went from four combine heads to the two, Case IH 40-foot flex
draper heads.
“The Case IH flex draper head is better,” Kevin says. “It
allows us to do a better job on close-to-the-ground
lentils than our John Deere flex head.”
Farmer-to-farmer at
CaseIHRoughriders.com
Faster harvest
The increased productivity of their new 7120 combines was an important benefit
to the Ordahls. The Ordahls averaged 50 acres per hour combining between 5.5
and 6 mph with their two 7120 combines.
“On good days with little moving, we’d do 500 to 600 acres of 40 bushel per
acre durum. I know we finished harvest several days sooner with these
combines than we would have with our John Deere combines,” Kraig says.
“The Case IH combines were easy to set, cleaned the grain better and required
less daily maintenance. The concaves were easy to change. The reversible rotor
and feeder housing made cleaning slugs much faster. The simplicity of one
very good head instead of two allowed us to combine more bushels of cleaner
grain every day. All of these things add up more than you’d think during the
whole harvest.”
See your Case IH dealer today
about a new Case IH combine
for your farm.
Jeff Ordahl (left), Kevin (center) and Kraig (right) along with their Dad
Wayne (not pictured), are pleased with the productivity and convenience of
their new Case IH 7120 combines.
The testimonial stories continue to appear in print
and now in video at CaseIHRoughriders.com. Dealers
provide suggestions of which farmers to feature, the
Your North Dakota / NorthWesterN MiNNesota Case ih Dealers
visit the Case ih website: http:// www.caseih.com © 2010 Case ih dealers / all rights reserved Case ih is a registered trademark of Cnh america llC.
any trademarks referred to herein, in association with goods and/or services of companies other than Cnh america llC, are the property of those respective companies.
Board approves the plan and AdFarm conducts the
interviews, takes photographs and writes and designs
Jim says. “Ads are planned and coordinated to fit our
“It’s not rocket science, but someone
has to keep the ball rolling.”
seasons, agricultural practices and shifting customer
JIM WILLIAMS
the ads. “The ads give us more bang for our buck,”
priorities. We’re always looking for a farmer with a
good story about our products.”
Jim concludes: “It’s not rocket science, but someone has
to keep the ball rolling. Active dealers, Case IH support
and AdFarm coordination have kept the Roughriders
strong. In some ways it’s amazing the group has
survived 30+ years. Yet with a dwindling customer
base and other challenges, it’s more important than
ever that we continue our cooperation.”
Moving parts
Since the late 1990s, the Roughriders have also
produced parts catalogs, allowing individual dealers
to customize their parts offerings and boost sales in
the twice-per-year publications. Dealers beyond the
Roughrider group have also participated.
DEALER CUSTOMIZATION
THE STORY BEHIND A ROUGHRIDER AD
How it all begins
Dreaded 4 p.m. phone calls
North Dakota Farmer Marlyn Seidler is an innovative
Marc continues: “As the ad explains, Marlyn and Ben use
grower, and the print advertisement featuring his son
Case IH Concord drills for one-pass seeding, pulled with
Ben and him is helpful in understanding the work of the
9280, 9390, STX450 and STX500 tractors—all with triples.
Roughrider dealer group.
By the fall of 2006, they were looking to upgrade to another
Marlyn, a long-time customer of Northern Plains Equipment
Company, Mandan, ND, is featured in a testimonial
advertisement promoting his Case IH Steiger 530 Quadtrac
tractor and Case IH Concord drill. The advertisement runs in
leading North Dakota agricultural publications AgWeek and
the Farm and Ranch Guide.
Northern Plains dealer principal Marc Taylor explains:
“Marlyn is a great—and demanding—customer. Part of his
success is driven by his one-pass approach, which is possible with the Case IH four-wheel-drive tractors and Case
IH Concord drills. I knew we could set up an interview with
Marlyn and his son Ben for the ad.”
One hour only
Kerwin Wetzstein is Marc’s salesman. He set up the interview and joined AdFarm’s Fred Lukens for a mid-July visit
wheeled tractor with triples. What’s not in the ad is this: At
that time, nobody at our dealership wanted to answer the
phone around 4 p.m., because it was likely Marlyn or Ben on
the line—not happy and in the middle of a tractor problem.
“Since they upgraded to the Quadtrac, we’ve had just one
service call to their farm.”
Farmers love to tell their story
Marc says: “As with other customers that our dealer group
has featured in ads, Marlyn and Ben enjoyed sharing their
story and telling us about their equipment. None of our
dealer members could pull together an ad like this on
their own. Together, we can agree on what to promote and
when to promote it. This kind of long-term, brand-building
advertising maximizes our investment, captures momentum
and helps increase sales for all of us. And it helped make one
of our toughest customers pretty satisfied.”
to Seidler’s farm. Kerwin emphasized: “We have one hour.
No more. Marlyn is a stock car driver, and the races are on
tonight in Dickinson.”
Fred agreed. Ninety minutes into the interview, Marlyn and
Ben continued talking while Kerwin listened and Fred took
notes. The resulting ad first ran in September 2007.
Neighborly praise
Marc continues: “Marlyn has been our customer for many
years. He and Ben are well-known, innovative growers
around here who definitely don’t follow other farmers’
practices. Their neighbors run equipment from other
implement dealers. They saw Marlyn, his son Ben and
the headline, ‘This tractor is an animal.’ Some got a little
irked. To Marlyn, that was high praise.”
Case IH steIger 530 QuadtraC traCtor
“this tractor is an animal.”
w
MArLyN AND BeN SeIDLer – UNDerwooD, ND
hile considering upgrading his four-wheel drive tractor in the fall of
2006, Marlyn Seidler was prepared to buy another wheeled tractor
with triples. “We’d been happy pulling our 6012 Case IH Concord drill
with a Case IH STX500 tractor with triples. I figured we’d do it again,” he
recalls. Son Ben had other ideas: “With this much horsepower and the
weight of the loaded 60-foot Case IH Concord seeding system, it seemed
a good time to try the Quadtrac.” Marlyn agreed.
about the Quadtrac system. He says, “As soon as we hooked up this tractor,
I got over it. It pulled better than our STX500 with triples right off the truck.
It’s an animal.”
The Seidlers have used one pass seeding with Case IH Concord
drills for nearly 20 years. They’ve pulled their drills with a 9280, 9390,
STX450 and STX500 tractors, all with triples. Their farm, in the rolling
hills just east of the Missouri River, includes wheat, sunflowers and pinto
beans, which they seed with the STX530 Quadtrac and 6012 Case IH
Concord drill. Their current 6012
drill is equipped with deep penetrating
Dutch triple shoot openers deep banding anhydrous fertilizer. In addition to
their Case IH 430 bushel air system,
they also pull anhydrous tanks up to
3,000 gallons.
See your Case IH dealer today about a new Steiger Quadtrac tractor
for your farm.
With auto steer, the Seidlers’ average seeding 30 to 35 acres per hour
and have done as many as 700 acres in a 24-hour day. “Most days we’ll
seed between 300 and 400 acres,” Ben says. Marlyn concludes: “We’re
very pleased with this tractor.”
Marlyn (left) and Ben Seidler have learned that investing in improved
farming technology can generate quick returns.
slippage reduced
“Most of the time our slippage with
triples was in the 10-12% range,”
Ben says. “With the Quadtrac, our
slippage is now 5 to 7% or less. The
Quadtrac is a very good system pulling a big load. We’re not ripping up
the seedbed with slippage.”
The Seidlers pull their 60-foot drill,
air system and anhydrous tanks at
6.5 miles per hour at 1800 to 1850
rpm with their STX530 Quadtrac.
Pulled better than the
500 right off the truck
Marlyn runs the drill most of the
time and admits to early skepticism
Your NortH dakota / NortHwesterN MINNesota Case IH dealers
Visit the Case IH web site: http:// www.caseih.com © 2008 Case IH Dealers / All rights reserved Case IH is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC.
Any trademarks referred to herein, in association with goods and/or services of companies other than CNH America LLC, are the property of those respective companies.
YOUR NORTH DAK­­OTA / NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA CASE IH DEALERS