Combines Is Gleaner retiringIJ

Ed, just the opposite is going on around here. No Massey combines anywhere but a few Gleaners around. Maybe Agco is trying to sell Massey combines where they are popular and Gleaners where they seem to sell better. Only a guess but the best one I can come up with.

Today at the Ohio Farm Science Review there were both. I have an R52 and after looking at the massey im glad thats what i have. Really around here gleaner dominates farms up to 750 acres. Above that and they want a 2388 or MAYBE a 9650 but In my expansions up to about 1250 acres i am going to stay with my gleaner.

To be honest, the way Agco has been so 'quick' to come out with new models or changes on existing machines, I do not think they will have to stop producing combines, people will just stop buying them. I have not seen any addressing of their problems in their combine since back in the N series days. Sure they have made some improvements, but everyone else has reinvented the wheel while they are still trying to find out if the earth is flat or not. Don't get me wrong, we had gleaner for many many years, but just got fed-up with their nonrecognition of problems and willingness to solve them. Hope they do not treat their acquisition of Rogator that way...

It must be your area. We have never had a problem with dealers or our combines. All the Gleaners we have owned have been GREAT.

For those who want more model changes, etc. you are playing into the hands of the marketers like red and green that keep you always clamoring for that next "new and improved" gem. Their art is to come out with a major new machine (read STS) and wring out years of hyped improvements and model designations that you just have to have! It is a must that the first version (we now are first seeing) have some definite problem areas, but be good enough not to loose their loyalists. Just watch as they "develop" that series for years and do it in such a way that the maximum amount of profit will be derived by the company. That is their job and they are expert at it. But is it in my interest to be supportive of itIJ I prefer to do business with a company that can give me value without getting into that game of model hype, etc. In some ways I also have some frustrations about easy no brainer changes that should be done to the R series, but as I said when I first ran a new R-60 back some years(after owning Deeres),I totally love the general layout and setup of the machines (eg.-grain tank size without being 20' tall and compact overall size for the capacity, and service accessability). Gleaners are so superior a design in my view to the lengthwise rotor machines as they end up so HUGE when they go for a big grain tank and class 7 capacity. The only things I want changed on my R-72 is a third (intermediate) speed to the cylinder drive gearbox(really would help soybean quality and capacity),and better ability to spread all residue uniformly across 30 feet. That can be done without any model name or looks change with a big price increase!

Well, I am glad to hear you are happy with your combines, as we were really happy with ours as well until we tried to put tough straw through it. But, watch how long it will take them to make those 'simple' changes on the combine. We had a combine clinic back 4 years ago and someone from Agco was down to get some ideas on what farmers would like to see for improvements on the combine. I have yet to see anyone of them addressed yet. In fact, the biggest change I am aware of is the grease point for the cylinder is now outside of the frame so you do not have to take the cover plate off to grease. A simple change, but it took them 20 years to make it. I am not hear to slam gleaner combines, I think in dry conditions they cannot be beat. But, Agco seems to buy time and not put the money into RandD to make some substantial changes. I do not think they need to redesign the whole combine and give it a new number, as we all know the 2388 is much like the 2188, and the 9610 is not a whole lot different than the 9600. But, admitting problems and trying to fix them is the only way to keep the line alive. How many combine lines are no longer in existence because they never put money into research and development. Also, I would like to clarify that we never had problems with our dealer either. In fact the Agco dealers in our part of the world are some of the best in the business, but they would be out on a regular basis, sometimes 2-3 times per day fixing the little mickey mouse things that would go wrong. We put 250 hrs_machine on our new combines and we have only had Cat out twice, once for a hydraulic line and the other because the computer had a bad connection. Other than that we could run 18 hrs per day without any problems.