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Queen Group

Is this the world's favourite second-hand tractor?

  • 13 Jun 2016

Two Massey Ferguson tractors, both out of production for decades, are still seen as an essential piece of kit by farmers in dozens of countries around the world. What explains their appeal?

A field in Cambridgeshire in eastern England, the size of 40 football pitches, is carpeted with row upon row of tractors.

With 35,000 registered bidders from more than 100 countries and about 2,000 lots under the hammer at each sale, it's the biggest monthly second-hand farming machinery auction anywhere.

Buyers travel here from across the globe, many of them from the developing world, looking for machines sourced mainly from the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia.

For many, especially those from Africa, the object of their quest is a Massey Ferguson 135, or its sister the 165. Produced in their hundreds of thousands for a decade starting in the mid-1960s, they were the most popular models of their day, says Bill Pepper, auctioneer and director of Cheffins, the company that runs the sales.

"All these old tractors, some of our buyers refer to them as mechanical donkeys," he says.

It's the machine of choice for farmers who have been ploughing with cattle and carrying loads with donkeys, and are looking to upgrade.

"These old Masseys, like the 165 and the 135, they're so basic but they're incredibly reliable and they just keep going on and on. Providing they've got a bit of fuel, a bit of water and there's oil in the engine they'll keep on going, probably until they're 100 years old," says Pepper.

"We've had examples where they've literally been sitting in a hedge for 10, 12 years, people have put a bit of diesel in them, they've tow-started them and boof! - off they go - just like that.

"Parts are plentiful and they are easy to fix. They have good, strong, basic mechanics. There's no electrics involved, so you haven't got any problems with that, and they just go on and on."

BBC News


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