AGCO Corporation celebrates the 75^th anniversary of Hesston by Massey Ferguson in 2022. The innovative equipment manufacturer began in 1947 when a farmer and manufacturer came together to solve harvesting inefficiencies. Since then, the company has kept producers at the heart of every user-friendly, highly productive product design it has produced. As Hesston by Massey Ferguson reflects on 75 years in business, the company continues to build on its legacy of innovation, promising revolutionary new products in 2022 and beyond.

Farmer-Focused Innovation

Hesston Machine & Manufacturing was founded in Hesston, Kansas, in 1947 by Lyle Yost and Adin Holdemann. Yost, a farmer, and contractor recognized inefficiencies unloading grain from combine grain tanks. Working with Holdemann, a manufacturer, he developed a new method based on an unloading auger that increased productivity and safety for this important task.

The company continued to produce innovative non-powered implements that revolutionized grain harvesting. In 1955, the company entered the hay industry with the first commercially available self-propelled windrower — the Hesston Model 100, which increased productivity and hay quality and encouraged the company to specialize in hay harvesting equipment. Today, Hesston by Massey Ferguson is recognized across North America as an innovative leader in hay equipment manufacturing.

“Since its inception, Hesston by Massey Ferguson has sought to provide the straightforward and dependable solutions that address the everyday needs of farmers. As a specialized hay equipment manufacturer, we have cultivated a deep understanding of the hay industry and hay producers, allowing us to lead the way with the right products at the right time,”

said Matt LeCroy, marketing director, Hay and Forage North America for Hesston by Massey Ferguson.

Revolutionary Legacy

Over the last 75 years, Hesston by Massey Ferguson has introduced many revolutionary products that improved hay production and quality for both commercial and traditional operations. Important developments in this lineage include:

• 1970, the introduction of the StackHand 60, the world’s first loose hay stacker.
• 1976, the introduction of the 5400 and 5800 large round balers, turning hay production into a one-man operation.
• 1978, the introduction of the Hesston 4800, the world’s first large square baler, producing 4-by-4-foot square bales that minimized dry matter loss and increased hay production efficiency.
• 2007, the introduction of the MF 2100 Series common platform large baler, brought the original large square baler into the modern era.

“By focusing on the farmer in the field, Hesston by Massey Ferguson has remained at the forefront of the hay industry for 75 years and promises tremendous value for customers in the decades to come. To date, the company holds more hay-inspired patents than any other manufacturer,”

LeCroy said.

Looking to the Future

The facility in Hesston, Kansas, continues to manufacture some of the most cutting-edge hay equipment in North America, including the company’s very popular windrowers, balers and combines. An additional investment of $45 million in 2013 added a new state-of-the-art paint facility.

“We are proud to be a part of 75 years of straightforward, dependable equipment manufacturing and a cornerstone in the Hesston, Kansas, community. We look forward to the next 75 years of farmer-focused innovation as North America’s leading hay equipment manufacturer,”

said Seth Beytien, director, supply chain, plant lead for Hesston by Massey Ferguson.

Today the Hesston, Kansas, facility is AGCO’s number one location in North America for manufacturing implements and combine harvesters. Hesston by Massey Ferguson continues a tradition of innovative engineering, producing revolutionary and timely hay equipment, including the release of the new WR Series self-propelled windrower in 2022.

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AGCO introduced a new self-propelled windrower from Hesston by Massey Ferguson that provides hay farmers more uptime, more power, and more comfort.

The WR Series windrower offers a 10% increase over previous models in overall efficiency to provide the power and speed to maximize hay production and quality. User-friendly features reduce the stress and fatigue brought on by long days in the field, while advanced smart farming technology helps minimize the overall carbon footprint for West Coast hay and livestock operations.

“When it comes to high-quality hay, every hour counts. Massey Ferguson customers rely on the straightforward and dependable nature of their equipment to efficiently accomplish work across their farms. The new WR Series windrower allows them to maximize their time in the field with minimized impact on the environment all while riding in one of the most comfortable high-tech cabs on the market,”

said Matt LeCroy, marketing director, Hay & Forage North America.

Greater Power and Fuel Savings

At the heart of the new WR Series design is a closed center auxiliary hydraulic system. Depending on the application, this feature allows for a 10% fuel reduction or 10% available power increase. This boost in overall efficiency is paired with a 150-gallon fuel tank capacity — an increase over previous models — for greater uptime and productivity.

For added performance and sustainability, the new WR Series features AGCO Power engines, delivering up to 265 HP at 2100 rpm and more than 280 HP at 1950 rpm. These highly dependable and cost-effective engines offer a proven legacy of consistency, reliability, fuel savings, and increased efficiency.

The WR197 features a 4.9-liter, four-cylinder while the WR235 and WR265 are equipped with a 7.4-liter, six-cylinder engine. A large tandem hydraulic header drive pump offers increased hydraulic capacity and control, allowing producers to run disc or draper heads. This provides higher productivity, faster field speeds, and better performance in all field conditions.

Cutting-Edge Technologies for Improved Efficiencies and Comfort

The new WR Series also offers some of Massey Ferguson’s most cutting-edge technology for increased efficiency and a comfortable ride. The Datatronic 5 terminal collects all vital operations in one convenient place and provides an intuitive interface for increased productivity and ease of use. This system allows for individual operator profiles, making it easy to customize operational preferences. Producers can also use MF Guide and other smart farming technologies for more economical operations.

This system reduces overlaps and can save up to 12% fuel in field operations. The spacious, ergonomically inspired Vision Cab with high visibility, rounded front windshield, and tinted rear glass provides an unobstructed view for operation and transport. A suspended rear axle — the oscillating GlideRider — absorbs bounce and shock for increased operator comfort. Paired with the optional OptiAir four-point airbag suspension, producers can experience one of the smoothest rides available.

“Hesston by Massey Ferguson hay equipment is known for high productivity and producing some of the best quality forage. The WR Series provides the efficiency and dependability producers have come to expect, with added comforts that make this vital job more enjoyable. We’re excited to offer the WR Series to operators who were Born to Farm,”

LeCroy said.

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New for next season will be the dual auger Harvest Commander 1121 model that can hold 1,100 bushels, the most desired capacity size among farmers. Key features include optional long-life Camso tracks, an on-demand horizontal auger drive, and a dump door cleanout for easy and quick crop changeover. It also incorporates directional tip control and a low profile with short sides for operating on rolling terrain.

The new cart is actually a throwback to Kinze’s legendary 1050 model, discontinued in 2012, that offered 1,000 bushels of capacity and was highly popular because of its sturdy design, ease of use, and dependability.

“1121 is a high-value, optimally sized grain cart that delivers efficient grain handling with low cost of ownership. Its durable construction, minimum driveline complexity providing operator convenience and low-maintenance track system are designed to provide farmers with a smooth and uninterrupted harvest,”

said Susanne Veatch, Kinze president.

The 1121 model’s new features, including improved cleanout, auger spout grain control, and upgraded lighting, have also been incorporated into Kinze’s existing lineup of dual auger carts. Those have been given new model numbers — 1321, 1421, 1521, and 1721 — which, along with 1121, reflect Kinze’s new product numbering system. The first two digits represent hundreds of bushels, the third digit indicates single or dual auger, and the final number is the model generation.

Justin Render, the Kinze product specialist, said the 1121 model addresses many of the grain cart challenges now facing the industry. Cart operation can be complex and confusing, track systems are costly to maintain and hard to adjust, and there is no cost-effective, durable dual auger solution currently available.

“The 1121 modes offer a clean and very efficient design. It’s a simple-to-operate grain cart that goes out and gets the job done year after year,”

Render said.

Beginning in 2022, all Kinze single and dual auger carts will carry the Harvest Commander name, as did the former 1050 model. They will also feature a new look, maintaining the classic Kinze blue color but with enhanced graphics, repositioning the Kinze name, and adding to the back of the carts the iconic Kinze Man character that was introduced in the company’s early years.

A 50-Year Milestone

The timing for the new look and upgrades coincides with this year’s 50th anniversary of Kinze’s first grain cart. Company founder Jon Kinzenbaw pioneered the grain cart concept in 1971. His 400 Grain Cart was the first major innovation of the then startup company, allowing farmers to transfer huge volumes of grain from their loaded combines to standing trucks, which was a major timesaver during the harvest rush.

This unique low-profile design was the first ever to use giant high-flotation tires on a single axle for greater stability and mobility. And it was the first to use large-diameter PTO-powered dual augers, which could empty the 435-bushel capacity load in less time: three minutes. This allowed the tractor operator to easily navigate between the combine and grain truck without interrupting or slowing down the combined operation.

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Ra-Rake is a simple machine but is revolutionary in its simplicity. It provides the speed of the wheel rake technology without the negative consequences on the forage. 

It is equipped with two working wheels of different diameters: the larger one does not touch the forage but has the only task of moving the second star, which is smaller and moves the forage without polluting it with stones and dirt. This permits to obtain a cleaner forage.

In economic terms, this has a significant productivity impact. In fact, the increase in the quantity of milk produced, equal to 1.76 lb per day per cow, involves an annual increase of 160,600 lb or about +25,700 USD (if the price of milk was 0.16 USD/lb).

The impact, of course, increases for larger farm sizes, but even for a small farm the higher revenues are interesting. Since there is no increase in farm costs, the greater income is equivalent to bigger profits.

The tests, carried out by the team coordinated by Prof. Luca Rapetti, head of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan, exceed expectations: forage harvested with Ra-Rake generates an average increase in ash content which is 66% lower than the one harvested with other types of machinery.

This is very important because high levels of ash in forage are troublesome: external ashes (soil, stones, debris) do not provide any nutritional value but rather deteriorate its features and increases the risk of pollution with spores and bacteria. Moreover, if the animal swallows too much ash, milk quality and quantity can be impacted. Davide Reginelli (Experimental University Farm) is convinced about that:”…if the product is better from a nutritional point of view and the protein content is higher, for the same amount of food the mixture is richer in digestible fibre, so the cow responds better by ruminating and produces more milk”. And:

“The higher the forage quality, the better the animals’ response and therefore the lower the food cost. moreover, if welfare is higher, (the) animal performs better also in terms of reproduction.“

says Davide Reginelli, head of the Angelo Menozzi – Landriano (Pv) Educational and Experimental University Farm.

According to the experts, forage protein value has a remarkable impact not only on the quality level of production (milk and meat) but even on the income statement of the farm. Indeed, the harvesting of forage for animal breeding—in particular, dairy and beef cattle—is now becoming a strategic activity for every well-organized farm. And, as every modern farmer knows, forage quality is highly impacted by all phases of harvesting, especially raking.

Moreover, Ra-Rake has other remakable features. It allows to work faster: you can run in the field at a speed of up to 12.5 mph and still respect the environment. During their entire life cycle Ra-Rake consumes 20% fewer environmental resources compared to other machines.

The economic impact, added to the other benefits of the machine, confirms that Ra-Rake is a very good investment, as its inventor Gabriele Repossi affirms:

“it is the star among star-wheel rakes!”

More about Repossi Macchine Agricole

The company designs and manufactures agricultural machinery, in particular for haymaking (raking) and breeding. Founded in 1898 and now in its fourth generation, it looks to the future thanks to innovative and patented solutions, including the RA-Rake double star rake, which in 2017 received Horizon 2020 funding from the European Commission.

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AGCO Corporation introduces the Massey Ferguson RB 4160P Protec combo baler. Now, producers can focus on harvesting forage at optimum condition, preserving it at peak nutritive value for livestock — even when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.

With the Protec, AGCO continues its legacy of offering innovative hay and forage solutions. The unit combines all the features found on the RB Series silage balers with an integrated bale-wrapping unit, allowing producers to harvest and ensile high-moisture forages in one simple process.

“In climates with high humidity and lots of rain, putting up hay traditionally can be a challenge, so many forage growers are turning to baled silage. Not only do they avoid the drydown issues, but they can harvest their forage at the ideal growth stage for maximum nutritional value,”

says Dane Mosel, marketing product specialist for hay and forage at AGCO.

Whether harvesting forage for a dairy or beef operation, the versatile RB 4160 Protec can handle any crop a grower wishes to bale. In addition to plastic-wrapped baleage, the machine can be used to mesh wrap forage before bagging as silage, as well as to bale dry hay, straw, and even course material such as corn stover.

Individually wrapped bales offer feed quality and transport advantages

Capturing and preserving a forage’s nutritional value is one benefit of silage. Mosel says that by wrapping a silage bale as soon as it leaves the bale chamber, more protein and nutrients are retained for animals to consume.

“It takes less than a minute from the time forage enters the Protec’s pickup to the time the wrapped bale is released. That preserves the nutritional quality the grower worked so hard to achieve in that crop. Feeding such premium-quality forage may actually lower ration costs because you don’t need to feed as much or need as many supplements,”

he says.

In 2020, AGCO hay and forage specialist Jessica Williamson conducted a field trial comparing forage quality from silage bales that were wrapped at varying intervals after baling. She found that delaying the wrapping process by as little as 24 hours led to a nearly 4 percent decrease in the availability of digestible proteins, as well as reductions in total digestible nutrients and volatile fatty acid score, an indicator of the success of the ensiling process.

Mosel notes that inline tube wrapping delays the ensiling process because the bales must first be moved to the field edge or a central location. Air can be trapped in the space between tube-wrapped bales, reducing effective fermentation. Quality also may be lost when the tube is opened and oxygen is reintroduced to the bales inside.

“Once that seal is broken, the forage inside is susceptible to spoilage, especially when the weather gets warm. That’s not a concern when bales are wrapped individually. They also can be transported, stored, or sold with relative ease,”

he adds.

Commercial-strength engineering ensures reliability

Built with durability and long life in mind, the Protec baler has a robust chassis and rides on high-flotation tires selected to handle the machine’s 14,000-pound weight. The baler components — including the pickup, bale chamber, and net-wrap system — are identical to the RB 4160V silage baler, which debuted at the 2018 Farm Progress Show and produces 4-by-5-foot bales.

“We have standard RBs in the field with 50,000 to 60,000 bale counts and still going strong, so these balers are built to handle whatever you can throw at them,”

Mosel says.

With a tine-to-tine width of 73 inches, the cam-less pickup ensures that even heavy, wet forages feed smoothly into the bale chamber. Because there is no cam track, there are fewer moving parts, making the baler both quieter and more reliable with less maintenance and fewer adjustments.

The Protec baler features two banks of Xtracut hydraulically operated knives. Operators can select zero, eight, nine, or 17 knives to attain forage cuts as small as 2.65 inches in length, allowing for improved forage digestibility. Once the crop is inside the bale chamber, the Constant Pressure System (CPS) ensures density stays consistent through the entire baling process.

“The denser the bale, the less oxygen when it’s wrapped, which improves the ensiling process,”

Mosel says, adding that the Protec’s variable chamber forms bales that are 4 feet wide and 35.5 to 63 inches in diameter.

Wrapping is easy with Protec

With its unique design, the combination baler’s wrapping unit is rugged enough to easily wrap silage bales that could weigh nearly 3,000 pounds. Yet it’s compact enough for greater maneuverability in the field and ease when transporting and storing.

In addition to two rolls of net wrap, the RB 4160P can carry 14 rolls of 750mm or 500mm film on board. Three film pre-stretching options are available, depending on manufacturer recommendations.

“With that amount of mesh and film, the unit can wrap 224 bales in eight layers of plastic or up to 280 bales in six layers, so the Protec can run all day. Sensors automatically detect if the film breaks or if a roll runs out, and the baler compensates to ensure that bales are always completely wrapped,”

says Mosel, adding that the Easy Load System (ELS) makes mesh roll replacement a cinch.

Innovative features maximize baling opportunities

The entire RB Series is engineered with productivity in mind. An operator can track bale formation, control cutter engagement, and select knife banks all from the intuitive E-link Pro touch-screen monitor inside the tractor cab. The only reason to leave the seat would be to replenish net wrap and film.

Even a plugged pickup can be remedied from the cab thanks to the HydroFlex Control system with its hydraulically controlled floating floor.

“Should the baler get plugged, the operator can disengage the knives and lower the rear of the feed table floor from the in-cab monitor, allowing the crop to enter the bale chamber. Then, the machine can be re-engaged and baling can continue. There’s no jumping out of the cab. No need to get hot, sweaty, and dirty crawling under the baler,”

Mosel explains.

The baler comes standard with a rear-mounted camera, providing the operator with a view of the wrapping table and the ability to monitor bale transfer, wrapping and release. Maintenance is simple. The baler features easy-to-access grease banks and an automatic chain lube system.

“The RB 4160P Protec combo baler is an ideal tool for producers who want to maximize the return on investment from their forages and provide their livestock with the absolute best feed. It’s an all-in-one solution for forage,”

Mosel says.

Source: AGCO

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