Massey Ferguson Beta 7370

The combine market is dominated by Claas, New Holland and John Deere. The number four, the Agco group (parent company of tractor brands Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra), has been emphatically claiming a share of the cake in recent years. For the European market, the manufacturer now has a complete line of combine harvesters: from a simple farm machine with an output of 130 kW (176 hp), to the impressive Ideal 10T with an engine output of 581 kW (790 hp). Today, these machines are all built at the former Laverda plant in Breganze, Italy, which Agco acquired in 2011.

Here, Agco builds a number of models that are marketed in two colors and under two brand names: Fendt and Massey Ferguson. In the Netherlands, it is mainly the latter brand - Fendt - and Massey Ferguson importer Mechan Groep initially focused on Massey Ferguson combines. Meanwhile, customers can choose for themselves. At Agromec, the other Dutch Fendt importer, sales numbers have so far been low.

With the move of combine production from Denmark (the old Dronningborg factory) to Italy and the arrival of the Ideal combine, the Massey Ferguson models Centora and Delta have disappeared from the program. Five years ago we looked at the entry-level model in this column: the Activa. Now we hold up the Beta (or Fendt C-Series), a machine that runs in the Netherlands with both contractors and arable farmers.

Comfortable cab

The Beta first came on the market nearly 20 years ago. But the machine - mainly due to the quiet and comfortable Skyline cab - looks far from dated. Anno 2023, the Beta comes in two variants: the Beta 7360 a machine with five tedders and a 7.4-liter Agco engine producing 225 kW (306 hp). The largest and most popular Beta in the Netherlands is the 7370 with six tedders. This has an 8.4-liter Agco engine with a power output of 265 kW (360 hp). The smallest Beta has a threshing drum 1,340 mm wide and 600 mm in diameter. That of the largest has the same diameter but is 26 cm wider. In both models, they have 12 stroke bars weighted with ballast bars that prevent drum seizing.

Following the take-off drum is a standard second threshing drum, which Massey Ferguson calls the Multi Crop Seperator (MCS). This second drum (the same size as the first threshing drum but rotating at a fixed speed) significantly increases the threshing area and thus the threshing capacity. This not only works well in corn, but is also useful in typical Dutch grain harvest conditions: grain ripe and dry, but the many straw is still green. In conditions where the grain can be knocked out of the ear very easily, you can electrically move MCS' threshing basket out of the work, preventing unnecessary damage to the straw.

The feed and threshing unit of the Beta combine with (flnr) the Powerfeed roller with retractable fingers, the feed chain the thresher, the take-off and the MCS drum.

The Powerflow combine is heavier and hangs further forward than a standard combine. To compensate, the rear axle can be equipped with weights.

The 10.4-inch Tech Touch screen is the same one that tractor maker Fendt previously mounted in its tractors.

The Skyline cab is comfortable, quiet and visibility to the mower deck is excellent, users say. A small cooling compartment is mounted to the left of the seat.

Massey Ferguson mounts as standard a roller with retractable fingers at the beginning of the feed channel that pushes the crop in.

Virtually all users opt for a Powerflow cutterbar with powered flaps that move the grain from the knife to the feed auger.

That some buyers choose the small Beta with five tedders is that that machine stays under 3.50 meters wide on 800 mm wide tires (800/65R32) on the road. With the six-shaker machine, you can do that only on the narrowest tire size available: 650/75R32 or on tracks. If you choose wider tires on that machine, the machine officially has to go on a flatbed trailer over the road.

For years, Massey Ferguson has been able to supply its combines with two cutterboards: the traditional Freeflow cutterboard with working widths from 4.80 to 7.6 meters or the Powerflow cutterboard available in working widths from 5.50 to 7.70. About eighty percent of Dutch buyers choose the latter variant. In this cutterboard, the blade is positioned further forward and powered Powerflow skids are mounted that deliver the crop in the direction of travel to the feed auger. This then also feeds the crop with the ears forward into the feed channel. On a sunny day at three o'clock in the afternoon and in a dry and standing crop, the Powerflow cutterbar provides little benefit. But in the evening, when the dew hits the crop and you have to stop with a traditional mower because the crop starts to poach (while the grain is still sufficiently dry), you can thresh for an hour longer with a Powerflow mower, users confirm. Some customers even mow grass seed from stems with this mower. The cutterboard is heavier and hangs farther forward, though. A number of weights on the rear axle keep the rear wheels on the ground.

Of particular note, Massey Ferguson mounts as standard on feeders with MCS a powered feed roller with retractable fingers (Powerfeed roller) that actively bridges the gap between the feed auger and the feed chain.

Mice

Because the Powerflow mower has more moving parts than a traditional mower, you would expect higher maintenance costs. But those who relax the endless rugs in storage and remove (with the vacuum cleaner or leaf blower) the grain left behind should expect few problems, Mechan Group says. If you don't, mice will crawl underneath and start eating at the tires as well.

Although the Massey Ferguson Beta combine has been around for a while, it is certainly not dated. Users praise the comfort of the cab, the clear layout and the ease of adjustment. There is also nothing but praise about the Powerflow mower. Users are somewhat concerned about the limited number of dealers with adequate combine knowledge. However, Mechan Group believes that the brand, with dealers and the backstop team in Achterveld, has sufficient specialist knowledge in the important regions.

Loonbedrijf Bouwman from Noordbroek (Gr.) traded in his two-year-old Beta in 2013 for a new Beta with an updated and more comfortable cab. With this machine he has been thirsting for about ten years now. "I still got some subsidy and was able to trade in the machine well at the time," Erik Bouwman says. "I also wanted a somewhat wider mower deck, so I traded that in as well. I now have one that is 6.80 meters wide." Bouwman did look at a Claas combine at the time, but "I like the value for money of the Massey Ferguson better. "I did actually want to buy a Fendt instead of a Massey Ferguson combine, because we also drive Fendt tractors. But Niestijl and the Mechan Group insisted on selling me a Massey Ferguson." Bouwman is very pleased with the threshing qualities. "The machine threshes like crazy." One disadvantage Bouwman thinks is the machine's large width. "At the time, I had IF tires mounted on it in size 680/85R32. Those tires flattened out mainly lengthwise, keeping the machine just within the 3.5 meters."

Hero Prins farms with his parents on an arable and pig farm in Zuidbroek (Gr.). Ten years ago he did want to do something with task maps. But he was not comfortable equipping the old Laverda 626 with a yield meter. At Mechan Group, Prins traded in the Laverda for a Massey Ferguson Beta 7370 that was in showroom there. "The threshing principle of the Beta is very similar to that of Laverda. That appealed to us. Besides, comparable Claas and New Holland machines are two to three tons heavier." Prins was also keen on a Deutz-Fahr, mainly because that machine's threshing drum is above the front axle, making the machine overall a bit narrower. "But a Deutz-Fahr has a lot more grease nipples and the computer at the time was not as advanced as the Massey Ferguson's." Prins does have some concerns about service. "Niestijl Mechanisatie has now become Otto Barkhuis, but it focuses on Fendt and Valtra. I don't know if it will still supply parts for my combine in the long run."

A year and a half ago, contract worker Ton van Helmond from Ommel (NB.) traded in his John Deere combine for a used Massey Ferguson Beta 7370 from Denmark with 450 threshing hours on the clock. "Many contractors in the Southeast choose a hybrid or axial threshing system for more threshing capacity in corn. But since I'm also threshing more and more grain, I actually preferred a tedder machine. It threshes the grain better and has fewer losses." He chose Massey Ferguson because he also drives tractors of that brand and is satisfied with the service. The good value for money also weighed heavily in the decision to choose the Massey Ferguson machine." Because Barendrecht Mechanisatie in Oude-Tonge (ZH.) is not next door, it has vulnerable parts such as slip clutches in stock. He is very satisfied with the Powerflow mower. "It feeds the crop in gradually and at an even pace. And in a moist crop, you can go much longer with this cutting board."

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