Massey Ferguson 5712SL: Unprecedented Comfort and Power

As a prize for being named the 2017 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year, Robert Mills was awarded the use of a Massey Ferguson® 5712SL tractor, a premium 4-wheel-drive machine with a front-end loader and massive power for its mid-range size.

Last spring, as Mills put that power to work pulling a field cultivator to prepare his tobacco acreage, he was quickly impressed. “It’s a great tractor,” he says. “It’s actually the first Massey that’s ever been on this farm.”

The novelty, though, is not just about brand. It’s about unprecedented comfort, too. “This is the first tractor we’ve ever had that has a cab suspension system,” Mills says of the equipment on his southwest Virginia farm. “When you’re rolling over all these terraces and diversions, through the mud and muck, even though the tractor is shaking back and forth, the cab rides really good. We’ve never experienced that before.”

The hood design provides great visibility, which is essential for Mills and his sons, who, in addition to tillage, use the tractor to feed cattle and fill commodity wagons. They’ve never before found a tractor with such easy controls. “I can clutch the tractor, change gears and change the 3-point hookup—all using my fingers,” Mills says. “We’ve never had that on another tractor.”

After delivering the tractor, William White and team at Boone Tractor in Danville, Virginia, have stayed in “constant contact” with Mills and his family, helping them learn the ins and outs of a new brand of machine. “For our business, price is important,” Mills says. “But service is the most important thing.”