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Massey Ferguson Combines: A Step Up In Power

How Massey Ferguson combines help cut harvest time, deliver a cleaner crop and get farmers home in time for dinner.

By Brigid Galloway

The Masts run the same machinery on their farm as many of their customers.

The Masts run the same machinery on their farm as many of their customers.

In his tidy office at the Black Prairie Tractor & Equipment in Columbus, Miss., Rodney Mast sits beneath a large jigsaw puzzle depicting Massey Ferguson combines. Rodney’s grandparents, Ottis and Anna Mae Mast, lovingly put the pieces together and framed it for his 39th birthday. It’s a fitting gift, especially considering the important piece of the Masts’ business diversification puzzle that Massey Ferguson combines and other AGCO equipment have become.

“We have a saying around here: ‘Nothing runs like a Deere … in the headlights of a Massey Ferguson combine!’” laughs Rodney, general manager and part owner in the dealership. This is not just a salesman’s boast; Rodney knows first-hand, since his family has used both farm equipment brands on their 7,000-acre farm. And he’s happy to pass along his family’s expertise.

“We’re more in tune with the heartbeat of what’s happening on the farm, and we understand the markets and the ups and downs,” he says. “Because we’re involved in a farm, we’re able to advise based off of what’s happening locally.”

Neighbor and Black Prairie customer Steve Swedenburg appreciates the Masts’ hands-on approach. “They run the same machines on their farm,” he says. “They’ve been happy to rob a part off of one of theirs and keep us going until they can get the part in.”

Swedenburg purchased his new MF9560 combine from Black Prairie just in time for the area’s record-breaking 2013 corn harvest. “It was a step up in power,” he says. “We were able to cut a few days off our harvest, we had fewer problems and less downtime. The new combine also did a very good job cleaning, and we didn’t lose any off the back.”

Down the road, Rodney’s father, Glenn, had a similar experience with his new MF9560. “It has more power, capacity and does a cleaner job,” he says. Even with the bumper crop, the MF9560 was so efficient in the field, it yielded another valuable benefit for the farm patriarch.

“There were many days that we quit shelling corn at 5:30 p.m. because we were at capacity for the day,” Glenn says with a grin. “We always aim to get home for dinner!”

<< Read more about the Mast farm in the full story, “Fish Out Of Water: A Farm Turns From Catfish to Corn”