AGCO Tractors, Combines, Balers: Brutal Conditions, Amazing Tools

Jason Lynch and his father-in-law, Curtis Coombs, recently purchased a Hesston^® by Massey Ferguson 2270XD to bale wheat straw in the hilly Palouse region of southern Washington. Pulling the baler with a combine, the two farmers note the conditions back among the chaff are brutal.

Coombs and Lynch run an MF8737.

“Behind the combine,” explains Coombs, “with all the debris and all that environment there, and for it to—on 100-degree days or 105-degree days—just keep tying knots in that type of an environment is … it’s just amazing to me.” The 2270XD, he continues, “is able to maintain the [consistent] weights that we need to have. So that’s another huge thing that we’ve overcome by upgrading.”

“To make a nice straw bale with [low] humidity,” adds Lynch, “is a huge challenge because the straw literally just blows apart. That 2270XD, I would go several days without a single knotter issue. I mean they’re just very low maintenance and very reliable.”

“The baler is just an amazing tool,” says Coombs.

Extreme conditions in the Palouse aren’t limited to baling, and use of AGCO equipment has a growing fan base for its reliability and versatility. Byron Seney, who farms about 11 miles north of Coombs and Lynch, uses an AGCO-made baler and combine.

Like Coombs and Lynch, Seney praises the performance of his baler, producing as much as 35,000 bales a year on hills and flatland. As for his combine, “the fuel efficiency … versus the competitors that I’m still running [provides] about a 30% savings. Other than that, the combine handles well. It’s got great power. I don’t have any complaints at all about it.”

Both operations also use Massey Ferguson^® high-horsepower tractors. Coombs and Lynch run an MF8737, while Seney has two MF8670 tractors, and both appreciate their fuel efficiency, as well as versatility and ability to run on the steep hills they farm. They also work with Walla Walla Farmers Co-Op and salesman extraordinaire Steve Bughi. “The co-op’s been great to work with,” says Seney, noting they have the parts he needs and terrific service.

About Bughi, says Lynch, “He’s not a salesman. He’s a farmer. I mean, he’s a true farmer, and he has such a passion for the equipment. He’s a great team member. He’s a good partner.”

<< See the full story, “Kings of the Hills: Baling Wheat Residue in the Palouse”