Customer testimonials

Since the 1970s, Massey Ferguson products have dominated the machinery fleet of Norfolk-based farmers RR Basey-Fisher & Son. However, this is the first year that a Massey Ferguson round baler has been used, following a succession of Welgers.

The family farming business operates from two sites, at Carleton St Peter and Langley, near Norwich, and is run by George Basey-Fisher with his parents Richard and Enid, and his son William. Approximately 400ha is owned of which most is arable cropping including 15ha of marshland, with a further 105ha of the marsh used for grass. Until five years ago there was a dairy, but this was replaced by a 380-head beef fattening enterprise. Calves are locally sourced and breeds include Friesian Holstein, Limousin, Angus and Belgian Blue crosses. The Friesians are field-grazed but other breeds are indoor-reared and fed on grass and maize forage with home-rolled wheat and barley.

Apart from a few conventional small bales for young calves, all the grass silage and straw is round baled. For the farm’s own use, approximately 3,000 straw bales are made each year including wheat, barley and oilseed rape, plus 350–400 bales of silage. The farm also provides a silage and straw baling contracting service for neighbouring farms. Variable chamber balers are operated, as the Basey-Fishers use 4ft diameter bales for their own farm finding them easier to move by hand in the yard, whereas 5ft are preferred by several contract customers.

Trusted brands
The farm’s balers are updated every four to five years and, since the first round baler arrived in the early 1980s, the brand selected has nearly always been Welger. “We like Welger balers as they make good, uniform bales. They are easy to use and maintain, and in our experience they are extremely reliable,” explained partner George Basey-Fisher. “We have always looked at other options when upgrading, but Welgers were reasonably priced and we had no reason to change brands. Even those which were more expensive didn’t appear to offer advantages.”

Out of seven tractors owned, five are Massey Ferguson. A nearly new Massey Ferguson Beta 7360 PL combine has been purchased for this harvest, and other recent purchases include an RK 662 twin-rotor rake. “We are surrounded by good dealers for all the major brands, but we get on especially well with our local Massey Ferguson dealer Thurlow Nunn Standen,” continued George. “We have always depended on Massey Ferguson combines and we find the tractors reliable and easy to use so, when we are looking for new machinery, it’s the first name we consider.”

Proven design
AGCO announced its acquisition of the Lely Welger forage machinery division in 2017, and products were displayed in Massey Ferguson colours for the first time in the UK the following year, where they immediately proved popular. Thurlow Nunn Standen Product Support & Sales Specialist Ben Hockley looks after the Basey-Fisher’s account and he commented, “It’s great having an already established baler manufacturer brought into the Massey Ferguson portfolio. Welger’s proven track record with users across the country has enabled us to further develop our relationships with customers and bring benefits to their farming operations. Since Agco’s acquisition, we have already seen improvements to the balers’ designs, and with continued investment in research and development we believe the brand has an exciting future.”

“Our five-year-old Welger RP45 baler was due for updating this year, so last harvest we started looking at options,” explained George. “The Massey Ferguson RB 4160V variable-chamber model appeared the obvious choice as it had the Welger heritage we trusted plus back-up from Thurlow Nunn Standen and Massey Ferguson. However, choosing the best baler for our situation is important to us, so we looked at what else was available and had demonstrations of two alternative machines.”

George said that all three balers worked well and, although both of the other balers were considerably more expensive than the Massey Ferguson, there was nothing to separate them in terms of bale quality or work rate. He also consulted several local farmers already using similar Massey Ferguson models who all recommended the machines, so he placed his order for the new baler which arrived in time for first cut grass silage and hay baling.

Welger performance retained
“Massey Ferguson has kept all the features we liked so much about the previous Welger balers and improved on them,” added George, “and our new baler has several useful upgrades over our previous model including adjustment of most baler settings using the in-cab control box, rather than having to stop and get out each time. The new baler is also Isobus-compatible so we could operate it direct from the controls of our Massey Ferguson 7720 tractor, but as we also use the baler behind a smaller tractor occasionally which doesn’t have Isobus, we find it easier to transfer the control box from cab to cab.
“The wider tyres are also an advantage, especially on our marsh land where ground conditions are usually soft and wet. Maintenance is easier with central lubrication, and a one-piece side cover provides great access for checking and cleaning.”

Attractive package
A three-year warranty, and finance options which suit the farm were also considered advantages of the Massey Ferguson brand. “Compared to other manufacturers we have always found Massey Ferguson straightforward. Products come with what you expect and there are no hidden extras, and parts and repairs are reasonably priced. Previous balers have been updated every four to five years, but we will try to keep this one slightly longer, although we still expect it to hold its value well.
“I’ve always liked Welger balers, but I’m even happier now that they are part of the Massey Ferguson range with the back-up of my local dealer,” confirmed George.


Article supplied by Massey Ferguson.

Massey Ferguson combines have been the harvest mainstay at the Ampton Hall Estate, near Bury St Edmunds, for the past 20 years. Ed Turner, who looks after the estate's farming interests, along with his brother Ben, believes this is mainly due to Massey's constant quest for improvement.

“They have been good combines throughout that time,” he states. “Over the past six or seven years, however, we've used a pair of Betas, which have taken us a big step forward. They replaced Cerea combines, which were slightly larger.

“We've found that having two smaller combines suits us better, giving us more flexibility. And, if one is out of action for some reason, we can still keep the wheels moving. They are more economically viable, too.”

The Ampton Hall Estate extends to around 5,000 acres, of which about half is farmed in-hand, and is largely light-to-medium land. Barley, oilseed rape, wheat, rye and sugar beet form the basis of the rotation, while the remaining land is let out for potatoes and onions, together with two pig unit lets, and includes woodland and a long-term tenancy. The workforce comprises two full-time and one part-time staff, with Ed and Ben both very much hands-on.

One of the most noticeable improvements they've seen in the Beta, compared with its predecessors, is the cab. “This has been one of the biggest differences,” Ed states. “It's a lot more spacious and user-friendly generally. Being able to view the full width of the table is a major plus.

“The joystick is very easy to use and has everything within comfortable reach. The screen is excellent, well laid-out and very simple to change settings at the touch of a button. Having the camera on the back is a real boost, too, as it means you're not having to rely wing mirrors – which are often covered in dust anyway!”

Another area where significant strides have been made, Ed feels, is in the machine's daily maintenance requirement. “Years ago, you would have to spend a full morning greasing the machine,” he recalls, “but now the nipples are all on a few banks in set positions on the combine, which means that you know exactly what needs to be done each morning.

“Greater accessibility has led to down-time being halved, which, in turn, means you can start cutting earlier. We've found the fuel efficiency to be excellent, too, running at about 11 litres a hectare this year.” The greatly-improved, all-round lighting on the Beta is also appreciated, particularly, allowing safer, longer working when the nights begin to close in, Ed comments.

Pushed to identify any Beta feature that might be improved upon, he can only think of the in-cab fridge: “It's not very cold....and access to the door from the driver's seat is not great.” Message received!

Ed's nearest Massey Ferguson dealership is Thurlow Nunn Standen, at Hinderclay, about 15 miles distant. “We have a very good relationship with them and they are always on the end of the phone if we need them,” he says. “If it's ever required, they will have someone with us within the hour.

So, how is the estate's 2019 harvest progressing (in the second week of August)? “Well, it's looking a lot better than last year,” Ed reports, “and so far our yields have been encouraging. Long may it continue!”

Content supplied by Massey Ferguson

Safe, efficient and compliant dirty water management clears the way for high quality pork production on Norfolk-based farm

John Nurse runs a pig finishing enterprise, some eight thousand head at a time. The pigs arrive at the Harleston, Norfolk-based farm around 7kg - normally three-to four weeks old - and finish out at around 20 weeks with typical finishing weights of between 100kg - 110kg. The animals are housed in large straw yards with scraper passages to maintain cleanliness, good health and ease of stock management. Every 8-10 weeks, each yard is thoroughly cleaned and washed down ready for the new interns. Naturally, there is considerable ‘dirty-water’ from the run-off and liquid waste that needs to be managed and handled efficiently.

John has an on-going contract to finish pigs for a major wholesaler and he has garnered a serious reputation for quality, cleanliness and environmental management. “With the size of operation here we are fully compliant with the Government’s strict IPCC regulation, or Integrated Pollution Prevention Control,” comments John. “It means we have to follow very specific guidelines to manage the effluent and dirty water that comes from a large number of animals. We collect all the liquid waste and surface run-off and recycle it to local farmland to help improve soil fertility. Our old tanker system was taking too much time and energy and so we had to look at how we could improve the efficiency of the system.”

John looked at several slurry and dirty water tankers on the market to evaluate what would work best for him and what would give him the best return on his investment. Durability and performance were important. But ABS braking, manoeuvrability, road stability and easy operation were critical. He was going to be on the road a lot, carrying heavy loads in and out of farm gates so a safe and efficient system was paramount.

“I discussed my needs with my local machinery dealer, Thurlow Nunn Standen (TNS), and they brought in a specialist from Major Equipment who manufacture high quality agricultural tankers,” continues John. “As I wanted to invest in something that would last me a long time, there were specifications that were going to be important for my business and I wanted to make sure I got it right from the start. The first thing that appealed to me with the MAJOR tanker was that it was galvanised inside and out. Also, the tank system was mounted on a separate chassis, which makes it more durable, particularly as it would be working in a somewhat caustic environment.”

Besides ABS braking, John was looking for a rear-steer axle, high-capacity, side marker lights, extra high-line lights, and marker tapes - very similar to what they use throughout Europe.

“My farmer customers are located at quite a distance, some thirty miles round trip,” commented John. “Road safety specifications are very important to me. Manoeuvrability is a big point also. I need to get in and out of small field gates so the rear steering axle was an absolute necessity. I also needed extra road lighting and ABS because safety is paramount. When I discussed it with my rep Ben Hockley from TNS and James Cox from Major, it was almost like they couldn’t do enough for me. Everything I wanted, James said he could do it and I felt very comfortable that here was a manufacturer who really knew what he was talking about. I even gave him a short deadline delivery date and he wasn’t phased by it. In fact I ordered a full specification, 4000 gallon, tandem axle tanker and it was delivered exactly when I wanted it, just before Christmas! I was impressed and I still am impressed!”

The old 2500 gallon tanker system used to take a week to clear the backlog of dirty water, the MAJOR 4000 Tandem Tanker takes just a day and a half. He uses a splash-plate application system on his customers’ fields. “I now feel that I have a very reliable and efficient dirty water management system,” said John. “I took my time to research the market and not everyone could supply the high-end specification that I needed. But I do think I have found the best value for my investment. The galvanised and very strong design of the Major tanker on a tandem, steerable axle gives me long-term reliability and a lot of flexibility with my customers. The ABS is icing on the cake. Because safety is my responsibility and is important, particularly with the amount of road we cover. I definitely made the right choice! I can now get down to what I am best at, producing high quality pork for my customers,” he concluded.

Major Cyclone offers strength, stamina and value for fifth-generation farmers in Saffron Walden

Peter and Sian Wombwell run Wombwell Farms based at Rectory Farm in Ickleton, near the market town of Saffron Walden, with their two sons, William and James. The farm and farm contracting business cover some 3000 acres bordering south Cambridgeshire and north Essex, of which 150 acres is grassland under various grazing agreements. The fifth-generation farming family operate an arable regime of sugar beet, oilseed rape, winter wheat, winter barley, spring barley and stubble turnips, the latter used to feed around 3000 store lambs through the winter. Plans are underway to develop a small Angus beef herd and they have a thriving pumpkin business as well. As contractors, they provide combine harvesting, drilling, spraying and cultivation services for farms within a 12-mile radius of home.

“We run under the HLS scheme and are very conscious of being environmentally responsible,” commented Peter Wombwell. “We maintain the margins by regular topping and have just recently gotten into recycling food waste from a local AD plant.”

The family had been using a flail mower to stay on top of stubble clearance, grass maintenance and margin control under its diverse cropping programme. When it came time to replace the expensive machine, Peter initially considered a batwing mower: “I started looking for a second-hand batwing topper but there were very few around and very expensive. Most second-hand machines were pretty much knackered anyway, so it was a bit of a dilemma!”

His local dealer Thurlow Nunn Standen (TNS) suggested the Major Cyclone for his needs, because in their experience, it does a much better job than a flail topper and is far more cost-effective with its shaft-driven driveline. “They brought out a demo unit for us to try. We were very impressed with its performance, so much so that we bought one,” added Peter.

The Wombwells purchased the Major Cyclone in 4.2-metre cutting wide. The folding wing topper has six rotors with 4 blades per rotor for powerful ‘blender-style’ mulching – perfect for shredding crop residue – but with 30% less HP required than a similar-sized flail. Cutting rotors are spaced two-and-a-quarter feet apart, doubling the number of heads found in batwing mowers to ensure any material is cut cleanly and evenly spread with no windrows.

High-performance Strenx™ 700 MC structural steel makes these mowers stronger yet lighter than comparable-sized machines. Hardox® 450 abrasion-resistant steel undersole discs protect the blade system while the mower is working. Combined with hot-dip galvanisation to EN ISO 1461:2009 specifications, the Cyclone is guaranteed impact tough.

“We bought the Cyclone about a year ago and it’s proven to be a very wise choice,” commented Peter. “It handles all kinds of material – we’ve used it on maize stubble, cover-crop, grassland, and one particularly difficult application down the tramlines in oilseed rape; it just whizzed over that! Some of the plant breeders have trial plots situated on our land so we have to clear stubble effectively. The Major Cyclone makes short work of that task.”

“It’s very strong, reliable, very well built, low maintenance, and easy to use. It cost less than a used batwing, hardly has any maintenance costs, and takes a lot less fuel to power it – I really like it,” Peter enthused. “I’m pleased TNS made the recommendation because it’s turned out to be the perfect solution to all our topping and maintenance needs.”