After fierce bidding, a 32-year-old Massey Ferguson 135 tractor finally fell under the hammer for £5200 at the Cambridge Vintage Machinery Sale on October 14 at Sutton, Ely. The money raised is going to FARM-Africa which works in partnership with marginal farmers to help them build sustainable livelihoods on their land.
The classic MF tractor was donated by Massey Ferguson’s parent, AGCO, and has spent the last 12 years as an exhibition piece in the company’s museum. The winning bid came from Mr Graeme Rothwell of Wix in Essex who intends
to add it to his existing vintage collection.
“We are delighted with the total raised,” says Jeremy Burgess, Massey Ferguson’s Director Licensees who organised the sale through auctioneers Cheffins.
“The tractor created a huge amount of interest throughout the build-up and during the auction itself. Special thanks must also go to Cheffins who kindly waived their fees and commissions for this special sale.
The proceeds from the tractor sale are being donated to FARM-Africa’s Agricultural and Environmental Education Project in Tanzania. The aim of the project is to make agricultural education more relevant to rural school pupils. FARM-Africa provides a range of agricultural inputs and teacher training to assist in this area.
Jane Tingle, FARM-Africa’s Assistant Director of Fundraising said,
“The money raised through the sale of this tractor will make a real difference to children being educated in FARM-Africa’s schools in Tanzania. I would like to offer huge thanks to Massey Ferguson for their support of FARM-Africa’s work by donating this unusual machine.”
“We believe that this project to educate the next generation of farmers in Tanzania is in keeping with the Massey Ferguson training philosophy which has been a cornerstone of our company ever since founder, Harry Ferguson set up his School of Mechanised Farming in the late 1940’s,” says Jeremy Burgess. “It also truly reflects the role that Massey Ferguson tractors have played in feeding the world’s population.”
The MF 135 spent the first 20 years of its life as a hire machine in southern England. It was then purchased by Massey Ferguson in 1994 for an exercise to test and promote its range of rehabilitation kits. The tractor was completely stripped down and rebuilt. and, in the process, was converted from a UK-specification cab tractor to an export specification footstep version. In line with the MF rebuild concept, the machine was updated with the latest components including new-regulation shell fenders. The objective of the rebuild exercise was to check the rehabilitation kit in terms of content and quality and then to use the machine as real-life example of tractor rebuild in action.
One of 270,000 MF 135 models built at Massey Ferguson’s tractor plant in Coventry in the 1970s, the machine up for auction was totally rebuilt using genuine Massey Ferguson parts which are still widely available through the Massey Ferguson 10+ Parts programme.
For further information on FARM-Africa’s Tanzania project, go to www.farmafrica.org.uk
Cheffins Auctioneers: www.cheffins.co.uk
ENDS
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About AGCO
Founded in 1990, AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AG) (www.agcocorp.com) is a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements, which are distributed through more than 3,600 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide. AGCO products include the following well-known brands: AGCO®, Challenger®, Fendt®, Gleaner®, Hesston®, Massey Ferguson®, New Idea®, RoGator®, Spra-Coupe®, Sunflower®, Terra-Gator®, Valtra®, and White™ Planters. AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance. The company is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, and in 2005, had net sales of $5.4 billion.
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