8 July 2015, 15:20
Canterbury contractor Dwayne "Moff" Molloy is a Massey Ferguson man through-and-through after buying his first MF tractor four years ago.
Moff and his wife Rhonda run three businesses from their home in Sheffield, including Hawkins River Contracting 2014 Limited, which makes about 20,000 bales a year.
They bought their first Massey Ferguson tractor, an MF8650, four seasons ago.
“That’s our main tractor for the big square balers,” Moff says. “The MF8650 was our first Massey Ferguson tractor, although the farm I used to work on had some Masseys years ago.”
Moff and Rhonda now have a second after they purchased a new MF 7624 at the end of this season.
“It’s going to be our main mowing tractor next year, as it has the front-linkage PTO,” says Moff.
“The MF7624 will go on the mowers and then go onto the balers. It’s a good-sized model and can do a bit of everything. It’s 240hp so it can do the mowing with ease and we can put it on a big baler. We might do a bit more ag work in the future so it will be plenty for that sort of stuff in the off season, such as pulling discs and big cultivators. It’s very versatile.”
Both the Massey Ferguson 8650 and the MF7624 have Dyna-VT transmissions, which allow continuous power control to maintain speed and minimise fuel consumption, which is ideal for both field and transport applications.
“The variable transmission is a big thing for fuel consumption and ease of use,” says Moff.
“You don’t have a step gear that you have to go through. It’s constantly variable. With the baling you can speed up and slow down to get the perfect speed to make the perfect bale. In the older tractors you’d be too fast or slow to make a good bale.”
Moff and Rhonda also have a MF7614, which is a loader tractor used for shifting bales throughout the season, as well as pulling a rake.
“You can pull a five-furrow reversible plough with it with ease. It’s the smallest of the six-cylinder tractors at 140hp but it’s very versatile and nimble enough to be a good loader tractor,” he says.
“The Massey Fergusons have a good engine and we find them fuel efficient compared to other tractors. Massey came out in the Top Tractor Shootout 2015 at the South Island Field Days. They did an overall testing on about six different tractors and Massey Ferguson came out with the supreme award.”
Moff is extremely pleased with their decision to go with Massey Ferguson when they bought their big MF 8650, as they were also looking closely at another brand.
“The main thing we like is the fuel consumption and they have plenty of power. They’re also pretty driver friendly. We have had young fellas driving the smaller one and after driving it for half a season they can’t get over how good it is and comfy for a small tractor. They have so many options in them.”
Source: AGCO, Massey Ferguson