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Preparations for Antarctica 2014 from Massey Ferguson are progressing well. The MF 5600 tractor that ‘Tractor Lady’ Manon Ossevoort will drive to the South Pole in 2014 is built and currently being prepared for its arduous journey.

Staff at Massey Ferguson are also assembling a team of top specialists to support Manon and the MF 5600 tractor. These include top polar explorers, experienced expedition leaders, a highly trained tractor technician along with back up from other specialists.

“Massey Ferguson is very proud to be involved in this great adventure,” says Campbell Scott, Massey Ferguson’s Brand Development Manager. “The project is part of our heritage and follows in the tractor tracks of Sir Edmund Hillary, who completed the same journey on a Ferguson Tractor 55 years ago. It will be the 56th anniversary of that significant event when Manon’s MF 5600 reaches the South Pole in 2014.”

‘Tractor Lady’ Manon has undertaken polar training in Northern Canada as well as initial tractor testing on a glacier in Iceland, along with members of the MF team.

Manon said, “I am very excited about what we have achieved so far and how the project is proceeding. In recent months I have managed to keep quite a big secret – that is Tractor Lady is soon to become Tractor Mama! The birth of my baby is another whole new adventure for me personally. But I am really determined to complete the journey and finish the story I have been creating for the past nine years.”

Massey Ferguson is delighted with Manon’s special news, adds Mr Scott. “Naturally we share the joy of Manon and her partner, Rogier and send them every best wishes for the future and look forward to our continued progress towards the South Pole together,” he adds.

Red Tractor Week launches on Monday 16th September. Fronted by Alex James, musician and farmer, Red Tractor week is at the heart of the year round Trust The Tractor campaign. Watch out for the Red Tractor logo in your local supermarket or restaurant as the week is being supported far and wide by retailers, food service partners and of course, the most famous Red Tractor  – Massey Ferguson!

Red Tractor is all about food awareness and knowing where your food comes from. The Red Tractor logo on packs means your food or drink has met responsible production standards and is fully traceable back to independently inspected farms in the UK.

During the week, Red Tractor will be showing how food is assured from farm-to-fork via 7 real life farmer’s stories. Each day Red Tractor will be exploring a different farming sector (beef, lamb, poultry, pork, cereals, produce and dairy) so consumers can learn all about the quality foods available under the logo.

Food-wise, there will be a series of new and exclusive Red Tractor recipes, which showcase the best Red Tractor ingredients and the unveiling of a new map locator to help consumers find how accessible and easy to find Red Tractor is when eating out.

The Red Tractor logo is your short cut to food and drink that has been produced to strict standards of food safety, environmental protection, and animal welfare and with a clear guarantee of origin. Trust the Tractor is a national 12-month campaign that aims to maintain consumer trust in food by raising awareness of the assurance benefits that the Red Tractor logo provides.

Join Massey Ferguson in supporting this worthwhile campaign, which aims to highlight the importance of British farming. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook for latest news during the week and just simply look out for the Red Tractor logo!

A pair of Massey Ferguson tractors is helping specialist Anglesey sea-farming business, Menai Oysters and Mussels, process each year more than 70,000 oysters and five million mussels, all grown and cultivated naturally in the strong, nutrition-rich tidal currents of the Menai Strait.

The majority of the company’s shellfish production is sent to wholesale markets for purchase by hotels, restaurants and specialist fish shops and retailers with a growing number of sales being made also via the internet, mail-order and direct to customers who visit Menai Oysters and Mussels’ shop on a Sunday or Wednesday.

Purchased in late 2012 from nearby MF dealer, Emyr Evans, the two Massey Ferguson tractors – a 38hp MF 1540A and a 102hp MF 5440 – are being employed primarily within the initial washing processes used to remove silt, sand and other seabed detritus from the shells of the harvested oysters and mussels.

Initial cleaning of the oysters is carried out in trays using a hand-held pressure washer fed with fresh water by a high-capacity pump mounted on and driven by the power take-off shaft of the MF 1540A tractor. When all of the oysters have been washed, the tractor is driven a short distance to the mussel processing line where its external hydraulic system is connected to pumps powering the equipment’s water delivery and conveyor systems, simultaneously washing and grading the mussels as they move along the line.

Having been cleaned off externally, the shellfish is either immersed in tanks or placed on racks for further cleaning by purification using continuously recirculating seawater that has been sterilised by UV light. Minimum purification time is 42 hours to ensure that the filter feeding mechanism of the bivalve molluscs has adequate time to filter-out grit, sand and other internal impurities.

All of the seawater used by Menai Oysters and Mussels within its various washing and purifying processes is transported from the sea shore to the farm in a 6,000 litre vacuum tanker hauled by the MF 5440 tractor, the water being held in large storage tanks until needed. The two and a half miles each-way journey to and from the sea shore is made two or three times a week, depending on the season and demand for the firm’s oysters and mussels, all of which are sold to customers within the United Kingdom.

“We use a lot of sea water for purifying the shellfish so the tractor has to be ready to go at a moment’s notice,” explained marine biologist Shaun Krijnen, who founded Menai Oysters and Mussels in 1994 and maintains a full hands-on role in the business today. “When it’s not involved in shellfish production, the MF 5440 tractor is used for hedge-cutting, pasture mowing and local contract work, helping out nearby arable and livestock farmers.”

Bought primarily to power the oyster and mussel washing equipment, the smaller MF 1540 compact tractor spends up to 40 hours a week stationary with its engine running and power take-off shaft turning at a constant 540rpm.

“The MF 1540 replaced a larger agricultural-type tractor, consequently cutting our diesel usage by half,” commented Shaun. “The new tractor’s power output and auxiliary oil flow are far better matched to our existing equipment so everything runs more smoothly and economically. Having a foldable rollbar instead of a cab means also that we can lock the tractor away securely overnight.”

The larger MF 5440 tractor arrived on the farm two months later, further modernising the firm’s machinery fleet while splitting the existing workload over two new power units.

“As the business has grown, we have looked increasingly to invest in modern, reliable, cost-effective equipment,” explained Shaun. “Massey Ferguson was the obvious choice for us. Not only is our local dealer just 15 minutes away but we are benefiting from the company’s Manager 5-year extended warranty and servicing package that brings peace of mind to a business that relies very heavily on its machinery throughout the year.”

www.menaioysters.co.uk

Massey Ferguson has come home to the streets of Coventry with the purchase of two Massey Ferguson 5610s by Coventry City Council.

The two recently launched tractors, which are to carry out verge mowing in and around the city of Coventry, were purchased from the brand new Ufton branch of dealership Lister Wilder, which opened in May this year.

“The Council was looking for a tractor with excellent visibility to the side and front. With its waisted design and drop-nosed bonnet, the MF 5610 delivers just that,” explains Stuart Wyles, Lister Wilder Ufton Area Sales Manager.

Not only does the drop-nose give excellent views to the front and side, it also enables operators to see to the side of each wheel and the to the front linkage itself, a must for verge and grass mowing, adds Mr Wyles.

The other important requirement was for a high lift capacity, and with its uprated rear linkage rated at 4300kg, the MF 5610 is more than capable of handling the heavy reach mower as well as other implements it may be required to lift.

The tractors are fitted with front linkage, complete with PTO, to allow for both front and rear mowers, as well as cab suspension, electronic linkage control and 100 litre/minute hydraulics.

Powered by an AGCO POWER 3-cylinder, 3.3-litre common-rail engine, the 105hp MF 5610 also delivers in terms of performance and economy, putting out 413 Nm torque at just 1600rpm. Drive is provided by a Dyna-4 powershift transmission controllable either via the multifunctional joystick or shuttle.

“To make sure the tractor fitted all the criteria, we attached the council’s Bomford flail mowers to test visibility, performance and comfort for the operator,” he adds.

And indeed, the new, spacious, high-visibility cab was also a selling point for the tractor, giving the operator the equivalent working conditions to those in a high-hp tractor – a necessity for long hours verge mowing.

“We looked at a number of different options in this power bracket, but it was the Massey Ferguson that fitted the criteria. Visibility is crucial for both safety and ease of operation, as is lift capacity. Operator comfort and usability was another high priority for us,” explains Brian Martin, Fleet Service Supervisor at Coventry City Council.

“We’re delighted to have supplied these two tractors to Coventry. Obviously location had a bearing, as the new dealership at Ufton is only a short drive, but it’s equally great to see Massey Ferguson visible on the streets of the city again,” says Mr Wyles.

Sunday, 2 June 2013

A convoy of vintage red and grey Massey Ferguson tractors is to cross the hazardous sands of the UK’s Morecambe Bay in a charity run to raise money for Diabetes UK.

Led by retired Massey Ferguson employee Bob Dickman, up to 20 tractors will make the 17 mile (27 km) fully-guided return trip on 2 June.

81-year-old Bob, who retired in 1995, spent 40 years working for Massey Ferguson culminating in his role as Export Service Manager. He will be driving a fully reconditioned 1954 Ferguson TEF 20 tractor across the sands.

Helping to raise money for Diabetes UK, former Massey Ferguson employee, Bob Dickman is leading a vintage tractor drive across Morecambe Bay in his 1954 Ferguson TEF 20.

“A similar crossing was undertaken by Land Rovers some years ago but this is the first time for tractors,” he says. “I am  raising money for a Diabetes UK Type 1 research project after seeing the impact the disease has had on the lives of family and friends.”

Massey Ferguson is supporting the event with the supply of raffle prizes including an all-expenses-paid trip to its tractor factory in Beauvais, France.

Bob’s mission has also attracted the support of some of his former Massey Ferguson colleagues now retired including Glynn Patrick who was Managing Director of European Distribution and Gordon Graham, previously General Sales Manager Eastern Europe. Glynn will be behind the wheel of his family farm’s refurbished 1968 MF 135 and Gordon will be assisting with the logistics of the event. Other ex-Massey Ferguson employees will be among the spectators.

At low tide which occurs at 1.45pm on 2 June, the notorious Morecambe Bay in northwest England exposes 120 square miles (310 sq km) of sand and flats. To ensure the safest route across the bay, Steve Morris, another key organiser of the tractor convoy, worked closely with a father and son team of experienced guides who use their own tractors to fish Morecambe Bay sands.

The guided crossing, which starts and finishes at Cark Airfield near Flookburgh is expected to take three to four hours. Four- year-old Neev Renton from Cumbria who suffers from Type 1 diabetes will set the tractors off at 12 noon.

Anyone interested in sponsoring or watching the event can visit: www.justgiving.com/bobdickmanMF-fergusontractorroadrun