AGCO Equipment: Tried and True, Plus New

Much like their dairy operation, the farm equipment inventory on the Schraufnagel’s Wisconsin farm might best be described as tried and true meets new. For instance, Andy Schraufnagel Jr. and his sons now run some of the newest, cutting-edge technology from AGCO,® as well as some vintage Massey Ferguson® equipment they purchased decades earlier.

“All of our equipment has always been kept in a shed and well maintained,” Andy Jr. says. “I bought my first Massey Ferguson combine in 1973,” he adds, in reference to a Model 510. The family also owns a Massey Ferguson Model 35, which they continue to operate.

However, just as they’ve done in the dairy barn, the Schraufnagel family has adopted new technology where it has been most beneficial to their productivity. That includes two later-model Massey Ferguson tractors—an MF7626 and MF6280. “The 7626 has always been our tillage tractor,” says Andy Schraufnagel III, one of two sons who run the farm with Andy Jr. “It has the power, gear options, hydraulic capacity and traction, thanks to duals and front-wheel assist, to function as our planter tractor, too.”

One of the most recent additions to their farm equipment has been a White Planters 9200VE Series 12-row planter that will replace two six-row models. “One of the main reasons we went with the White planter,” says Aaron Schraufnagel, Andy III’s brother, “is we could get the model we wanted with several Precision Planting® options already installed.

“As a result, we added [Precision Planting’s] DeltaForce® down force system, the 20/20 monitor and CleanSweep® row cleaners. We think the larger size and the new technology, like the automatic adjustment of down force to soil conditions and the variable pressure on the row cleaners, will provide for a more consistent planting depth and more even emergence for our row crops, as well as those we plant on a custom basis.”