Massey Ferguson 8S – F S Brettell & Sons

We are all aware the Massey Ferguson 8S has landed with a bang, winning Tractor of the year 2021 it’s fair to say it’s a pretty impressive tractor.

As farmers are currently flat out with silaging and hay making we took the chance to catch up with brothers Ed and Chris Brettell from F S Brettell & Sons in Hadnall, Shrewsbury. The brothers are fourth generation farmers specialising in organic arable farming and 12,000 laying free range chickens. They also contract out to nearby dairy farmers but have plenty of work to do spread out of their 3 farms and 800 acres.

Over the years the family have bought 6 Massey Ferguson tractors from RVW Pugh and have been a loyal customer for over 8 years.

Chris explained: “We’ve always used Masseys, my brother is currently using the 7720 whilst I’ve been upgraded to the 8S. It’s like no other tractor, it’s so much better on fuel economy especially when ploughing it keeps you at around 1200 revs whereas the older models would have you at 1500. The gearbox is so smooth you don’t even feel the transmissions and can you hear how quiet it is? No other tractor has the visibility like the 8S, the cabs so high up and the seat swivels further round than a usual tractor which is helpful. You can really tell how much the cab has been improved it’s really comfortable and you barely feel a bump.”

I think it’s fair to say Chris is super impressed with his new MF 8S which they bought from Pugh’s in March 2021 and has so far used it to plough 400 acres and mow 400 acres over the three farms.

“We’ve got the 8S Dyna 7, the multipad lever is so easy to use I just push a button and when I’m ploughing the tractor will control the speed without upping the revs saving on fuel and helping efficiency. We’ve had other tractors when our Massey’s have been in for a service but nothing really compares to the 8S in its price range. There’s plenty of horsepower and the dual clutch is something that divides this tractor from older models.”

Dyna-7 offers efficient operation of a total of 28 forward and reverse speeds in four ranges and seven seamless gears. This cost-effective transmission delivers smooth and intuitive operation in manual mode or can even be operated fully automatically.

Whilst sitting in the tractor Chris’ phone rang through the Bluetooth connection so he could speak to the other contractor through the surround sound with no problems and handsfree. The audio was as clear as a face to face conversation.

To finish off Chris explained how the family have always had a great relationship with Pugh’s and can’t knock the company, he’s always had a good experience with servicing and we look forward to many years ahead with F S Brettell & Sons.