Newby and his Massey Ferguson GC2410

“I actually couldn’t operate the place without it,” Mark Newby says of his Massey Ferguson GC2410.

“It’s small enough to get into the stalls and maneuver around a lot of the obstacles that I have out in the obstacle training area,” says the owner of Suncoast Equine, a horse-training facility. “Just by looking at its size, you might think it was not very powerful, but it certainly has enough power to do everything that I need, and it’s four-wheel drive. It’s just perfect for me.”

In addition to cleaning the stables and mowing in tight spaces, “everything” includes mowing larger pastures, using his rotary mower to clear riding trails in fast-growing wooded areas, digging post holes for a sizable fence, and raking and leveling his riding arena. He’s also used his Massey Ferguson backhoe and front loader for such tasks as digging a hole and moving the dirt for a septic tank and a trench for electrical conduit.

Newby, a retired policeman, had not operated a tractor before the MFGC2410. “The only type of machinery I’d ever used was a riding lawnmower, but my tractor is just very easy to use. To engage the pto, there are two levers,” he says. “It has a hydrostatic transmission. It couldn’t be any simpler.”

There are no gears, as with some of the other tractors he considered. Instead, it just has two pedals. “That’s probably one of the greatest advantages.”

The MFGC2410, says Newby, has also been trouble-free, requiring just routine maintenance. For that he uses John Mason Tractor in Brooksville, Fla.

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Crews use Massey Ferguson 5400 Series tractors on the Standardbred track for pulling harrows through the crushed traprock, referred to as hard dirt, keeping it smooth and level.

Kent Sherman and Bob Downham worked closely together when it was time to modernize the Woodbine tractor fleet in 2009. Sherman is service/fleet manager here; Downham is the president of Connect Equipment, which supplies Woodbine with its Massey Ferguson tractors. Now 12 Massey models are at work, with more on the way.

Using Massey Ferguson equipment wasn’t a given, though. Sherman presented his needs to dealers of two brands, and they gave it their best shot. A major need was absolute reliability of product and service, since racing 5 days a week for most of the year allows little breathing room. “Over the years, we had acquired a lot of different brands of tractors,” Sherman says. “We were looking to upgrade and homogenize the fleet, and to find a company that could satisfy all our needs. Connect gave us great confidence. We have to have someone in partnership with us, so if we do have an issue, they’ll deal with it as quickly as possible.”

There have been few breakdowns, even with a lot of hours run—1,000 to 1,200 per year on some of the tractors. Downham recalls one time (the malfunction of a MF6490) and a replacement was immediately substituted while the machine was fixed.

Each track surface has its own needs, and the men have selected the tractors to meet them. “On the turf track we use 2660s, which are the right size and weight to handle mowing, thatching and vacuuming,” Sherman says.

Crews use Massey Ferguson 5400 Series tractors on the Standardbred track for pulling harrows through the crushed traprock, referred to as hard dirt, keeping it smooth and level. This one is graded with lasers to maintain its contour. The Polytrack is worked down 7 to 8 inches weekly and fluffed up, with more material worked in as required. Cultivators and roto-tillers are used for this purpose, and the current Massey Ferguson 6400 and 7400 Series tractors are best suited to this task. “Fuel consumption has always been good with the Masseys, but also there are less emissions into the atmosphere,” Sherman says.

“That’s hugely important to us. We burn almost $200,000 in diesel fuel annually,” says Steve Koch, Woodbine’s vice president of Thoroughbred racing. “We expect Massey Ferguson technologies to help us curb this.”

Woodbine is an environmentally sensitive company, and its managers wanted to reduce their carbon footprint with this new fleet. A new crop of Massey Ferguson 7600 tractors being delivered this year will further that effort.

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For instance, EQIP can partner with farmers on wells, pipelines, water troughs and surrounding heavy-use areas. It can provide cost-share money for fencing out creeks and ponds, and developing stream crossings, as well as help put in heavy-use areas where you normally feed hay. It can help with cross fencing for pastures and help replant pastures damaged by drought.

If you are interested in the cost-share funds and technical help provided by the NRCS, contact your local NRCS office. Before you go, though, Hugh Smith, district director for a five-county area in and around Saluda, South Carolina, offers his advice for boosting your chances of getting the funds. “Think small. Sign up for smaller contracts, one or two practices. Get those completed on time and it will increase your chances of getting another one.”

If, by chance, you think it will help if you have kinfolks at the NRCS office, think again. Hugh’s father, Boyd Smith, who lives in Hugh’s district, says, “Hugh told his staff not to show me any favoritism. He said, if it was between me and anybody else, [he’d] give the money to the other person.”

Still, Boyd says, “Check with your county person. See what’s available and what fits your farm. They have the money but you have to step up to the plate to get it. There are a lot of programs for different people for different farms. If it is out there and available, get it.”

Much more information is available on EQIP from NRCS, including a state-by-state guide for how to apply.

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Boyd uses a Massey Ferguson 5445 tractor with a 1070 loader for many of the chores around his farm. He also has a Heston 3727 tedder. Both were purchased from Ray's Farm Equipment in Newberry, South Carolina.

To help maintain the improvements on his farm, not to mention cut, rake and feed hay, Boyd Smith needs dependable equipment and a dependable equipment dealer. He has both.

His farm workhorse is a Massey Ferguson 5445 tractor with a 1070 loader. He also has a Heston 3727 tedder. Both were purchased from Ray’s Farm Equipment in Newberry, South Carolina.

“We’ve got a good Massey Ferguson dealer,” says Smith. If we have a breakdown, Ray (owner Ray Counts), will ask if I’m using it. If I am, he’ll say he’ll be here in 30 minutes. If I’m not, he’ll ask if he can wait until tomorrow. He is a good man to deal with in sales and service.

“Massey Ferguson equipment is reliable, dependable and less expensive to operate,” continues Smith. “I’m satisfied with it so why should I try anything else?”

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The AGCO Power engine.

In this issue’s story titled “Through the Wringer,” both farmers who tested the new MF9560 Series combine raved about its AGCO Power™ Tier 4 interim engine. Dean Sleezer of Illinois even commented, “I’ve never run anything with so much torque and power. But even more amazing was the fuel economy.”

With AGCO Power engines now available in all Massey Ferguson tractors from 60 to 370 horsepower, as well as new combines and AGCO application equipment, we decided to take a closer look at this remarkable power plant. How does this engine increase its torque and power, yet save on fuel, as well as reduce emissions?

There are three enhancements involved when the new engines, like the one Sleezer mentions above, are compared to the previous Tier 3 model.

Pressure within the fuel injection system was increased nearly 50% to more thoroughly atomize fuel, improving diesel use and lowering overall fuel usage.

The addition of an industry-exclusive pivoting cooling system also helps improve fuel efficiency by capturing, cooling and directing unburned fuel back into the fuel system.

Use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, which helps the engine achieve Tier 4 interim emissions standards, also improves fuel efficiency through separation of engine settings and exhaust after treatment.

The result is that the Tier 4 interim AGCO Power engine uses up to 15% less fuel. Even when taking the use of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) into account, which is used with SCR technology, the total operation economy improves by more than 10%.

Remarkably, the 9.8-liter, 7-cylinder version of the engine provides an approximate 15% increase in torque and power. The engine also ensures torque rise to be rapid and remain high at lower engine speeds to ensure the most efficient operation and maximum fuel savings.

It’s true—you can have more with less—at least with AGCO Power.

Jonathan Fussell (left), with his older brother David.

If muscadine grapes could talk, they might sound a little bit like the Fussell brothers of Rose Hill, N.C.

The native Southern grapes would definitely have an accent, for instance. Like the Fussells, they would be honest about hard times. And they might be a little bit defensive. See, the muscadine is the Rodney Dangerfield of grapes. It gets no respect.

Taken on its own merits, it’s hard to imagine why the mighty muscadine—also known as the scuppernong—needs a defense. It’s a tough grape. The fruit itself is twice as big as that of the European varieties more common in wine culture (pinot, cabernet, chardonnay, etc.), and though all grapes contain high levels of resveratrol, the anti-oxidant, in their skins, some studies have shown muscadines to contain 6 to 10 times more than other varieties. The thick-skinned grape has evolved and thrived in the Southeast; in fact, the oldest surviving grapevine in North America, the 400-year-old “Mother Vine,” resides in North Carolina and is, naturally, a scuppernong.

Still, some folks look down their upturned noses at sweet wines. “The industry in California has done a good job of promoting dry wine as the sophisticated thing to drink,” says Jonathan Fussell, who with his older brother David took over the family business, Duplin Winery (www.duplinwinery.com), from their father, David Sr., several years ago. “We sort of use that lack of respect as motivation for what we do,” David says.

The Fussells earned their thick skins through some lean times. When David Sr. left the education profession in the late 1960s to farm—something he had always wanted to do—he started out, like many of his neighbors in Duplin County, in the hog business.

One neighbor who started around the same time, Wendell Murphy, went on to earn his fortune with Murphy Family Farms, part of the Smithfield Foods empire. On the Fussell place, though, things turned out just a little differently. “Back then,” says Jonathan, “your hog house and lagoon weren’t separate. So one day Dad is cleaning out the hog house, and he falls into the lagoon.” That was enough to sour David Sr. on the hog business. “So Dad says, ‘I gotta do something different,’ ” Jonathan recalls.

Enter the sweet muscadine.

Vineyard manager Carlos Munguia is impressed with the maneuverability of the MF2615.

Though the company operates more than one brand of tractor, Duplin Winery has owned an older MF1220 for more than 15 years, and the quality of that machine led Duplin to purchase a MF2615 from White Tractor, Inc., in Burgaw, N.C., in 2010. “We used the 1220 for a little of everything,” says Carlos Munguia, the winery’s vineyard manager, including spraying, mowing and pulling trailers during grape harvest. “The durability of it, plus the convenience of having a dealer nearby” made the MF2615 an easy purchase decision, he says.

Once they had the new tractor, Munguia could compare it to the other brands of equipment on hand. “We have some Kubotas, and the thing you notice is the MF2615 has a much tighter turning radius,” says Munguia, which is crucial when maneuvering around delicate vines. Getting as close to the vines with the tractor as possible is important both for spraying, to avoid drift, and for mowing, to keep rows tidy for visitors.

Munguia says the quick availability of parts, even for the older MF1220, reduces any downtime drastically. “Just recently the 1220 broke a bearing,” he says. “We had the part from the dealership, got it replaced, and were back up and running in 20 minutes.”

Since 2010, Duplin has added two more MF2615s, both equipped with loaders and used in the production facility, to its fleet.

The formula for success at Duplin Winery, the largest muscadine winery in America, is comparable to the formula for Massey Ferguson’s heritage of quality, says David Fussell. “We make great wines and people expect a certain quality from them, and I think that’s the same as anyone who’s out there buying a tractor. We’ve learned to put trust in Massey Ferguson to provide us with a quality tractor.”

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Duplin's retail store in Rose Hill, N.C.

• Cases sold in 1991: 5,000

• Cases sold in 2001: 50,000

• Cases sold in 2011: 360,000

• Acreage in estate-planted muscadine: 47 acres

• Total acreage in production for Duplin Winery, including contract growers: approx. 1,800 acres

• Tank capacity at Duplin Winery production facility: 1.4 million gallons

• Members in Duplin Winery’s Heritage discount wine club: 5,500

• Facebook fans: 23,000-plus

• E-mail list members: 50,000-plus

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