Great Tractor, Great Value
How a farmer spent a lot of money and time repairing his Kubota, then rediscovered the versatility, efficiency and reliability of Massey Ferguson.
By Nancy Dorman-Hickson | Photos By Logan Cyrus

Arthur’s son Paul (seen here) also uses Massey Ferguson on his land. So impressed with his son’s MF2615, Arthur is now considering purchasing one, too.
The operation at Black’s Peaches and Cotton Belt Bakery includes 50 acres of 7,000 peach trees; 2 acres of nine tomato plantings (500 plants in each planting); 2 acres of strawberries; 12 to 15 acres of pumpkins; 1,000 round bales and 25,000 square bales of hay annually; 50 acres of wheat; 50 acres of oats; and a 5-acre corn maze.
With all that going on, Arthur Black needs equipment that’s versatile, tough and reliable. The family’s loyalty to Massey Ferguson® goes way back. “My daddy bought a Massey-Harris combine back in 1950 or 1951,” Black says. “Before we quit row cropping, we had four 300’s, three 510’s and two 750 Masseys.” In fact, Black’s brother Eddie was a Massey Ferguson dealer. When Eddie died, the area went without the brand for a time.
“Kubota was just across the street,” Black says, so he bought a Kubota utility tractor for spraying and baling. “I spent a lot of money on repairs,” he says ruefully. “They don’t have enough metal in them to make them a worthwhile tractor.” He was also unhappy with its fuel consumption.
He now owns an MF2660 and is pleased with its fuel efficiency and reliability. “We spray peaches 25 times a year,” he says. After only two years, he’s racked up 1,400 hours on it. He also uses the MF2660 for baling hay and says its 16-speed transmission allows him to do the job faster.
Further emphasizing the versatility of the MF2660, he notes he also uses the tractor with an MF1329 10-foot disc mower, an MF39 6-row planter and an MF43 grain drill. Black likes Massey Ferguson’s competitive prices and is considering purchasing an MF2615 as an additional utility tractor. The South Carolina farmer also appreciates the two older MF1100s he owns. “I’ve had five of these things,” he says of the 40-year models. Black also owns a Hesston® 4570 inline square baler and accumulator, and a Hesston 540 round baler. He likes the hydraulics, which, Black says, “work a whole lot better than that Kubota.”
“We repair some, but he repairs a lot himself,” says Michael Nance of Nance Tractors in McConnells, S.C., where Black does business. “It depends on how busy he is.”
Black compliments the dealer’s efficiency. “I’ve had him rob parts off of other tractors to get [my tractor] running if he didn’t have a part,” Black says. “He sells you what you need, not what he needs to sell.”