Massey Ferguson Tractors Are The Complete Package

Before they bought the 40 acres for their Hannah’s Hill vineyard—and soon-to-be home, Jim and Ann Gardner had never owned a tractor. That they knew little about them—no problem. They just dove into the buying experience like they do with just about everything else related to what they call their “second career.” One thing they did know, however, was that they needed a versatile tractor.

“When we were looking to take this from a grassland to a vineyard,” explains Ann, “we knew that we had to get a tractor that could do a lot of different things. So, we went to every single tractor dealer in the state, every different type, looking at what they had.

“What happened is, as we went and looked at all these different tractors, we found that Massey Ferguson had everything we needed, and they had the advantage from our point of view of specializing in agriculture.”

That meant a lot to the Gardners, who were also new to farming and developing a rural property. “We didn’t know all that we would need the tractor for,” says Jim, and for them, both a knowledgeable dealer and the tractor—an MF1560—proved to be the right choice.

“One of the benefits of the tractor is the horsepower,” says Jim. “It is very important to me that the tractor fit in an 8-foot row and also fit through an 8- x 8-foot door to be able to get into the barn. That was a big deal, but it’s also got 60 horse on it, so I can do things like power a 150-gallon sprayer or run the big flail mower, or lift 3,000 pounds of steel with the forklift. I use it all over the vineyard.”

The other half of the equation in the Gardner decision was the dealership, Empire Agriculture in Casa Grande, Arizona. On the front end, “the salesman, Frank Merry, was so helpful,” says Ann, noting he not only made sure they got what they needed, but has even visited the winery several times to answer questions about the tractor.

“The service is terrific, too,” says Jim. “I never feel like, with my small tractor coming in there, I’m playing second fiddle. They have tractors that darken the sky and I come in with my little compact tractor, and I get exactly the same level of service from those guys. It’s just awesome.”

Read the rest of the story and watch videos about the Gardners, and their vineyard and tractor in the My Farm Life article, The Grape Escape.

Written by: Richard Banks