Massey Ferguson and AGCO: Equipment That Pays Off
Minnesota farmer Craig Holm invested in Massey Ferguson and other AGCO equipment. The results have been “second to nothing,” he says.
By Richard Banks | Photos By Craig Lassig
Holm injecting manure: “If you’re smelling manure, you’re losing nitrogen,” he says.
Craig Holm is always looking for an edge, some new practice or technology that can help on his farm, but only those that offer a solid return. One such leg up has been his Massey Ferguson® and other AGCO equipment.
“They’re second to nothing, that’s for sure,” says Holm, who runs a variety of Massey Ferguson equipment, including a combine and three tractors. He also owns Sunflower, White Planters™ and a RoGator® from AGCO.
“The fuel efficiencies are amazing on these new machines,” he says, but without compromising on power and capacity. “These new engines are set up to use the power that they need, but the computers back them down,” says Holm, allowing the engine to run at optimum rpm and thereby reduce fuel consumption.
Speaking of his MF9560 combine, Holm says, “I couldn’t believe how fast we went through harvest last fall … for that combine to do a 300-acre day is really not even a hard day. It was so impressive.”
So much so that his two agronomy consultants, both of whom rode with him, as well as farmers who run other brands, declared it the best of the lot. “They said the other brands out there don’t compare.”
Holm is a willing but cautious adaptor of innovative machinery and other solutions. “I will use the technology if I think I can make it pay,” he says, “and one of the biggest payback pieces of technology I could see is autosteer. Everything I have has it,” he says of AGCO’s Auto-Guide™ 3000.
Holm says the technology on his 1194H RoGator has provided exceptional payback. Often spraying fields three times during the growing season, compaction and crop damage are a concern. Yet the RoGator has four-wheel steering, which keeps all the tires in just two tracks, lessening plant damage.
Holm has a terrific relationship with his dealer, Judson Implement and other AGCO-related dealers, and he appreciates AGCO’s stance on making their technological solutions compatible with other brands. “Some of these companies are trying to tie you with their technology,” says Holm. “I don’t like getting tied up with a single company, that’s why I hire our agronomy service.
“We do it together as a team and we pick and choose who we go to.” AGCO, he says, gives him that choice.
<< Read the full story, “Taking Care: Craig Holm and his Minnesota Farm”
