With the eventual closure of the UK combine plant at Kilmarnock in the early eighties, combine production for MF would now continue in France at Marquette.

it was at this time many key personnel viewed the move as probably the wrong decision! but faced with crippling debt and fierce competition from competitors, Massey continued to push forward to design future new models that would follow the success of the 525 and lesser known 625 models.

The 535 Model was quickly available based upon the original models but with a purpose built cab and air con system, with a new control lay out and a cascade separator similar to the multi flow.

More to follow, and a look at a pair of mint combines still bringing in the Harvest in the North of UK

The following photos were kindly sent to me by Martin Little, our two Marquette built combines carry out the harvest on a farm in Kirkbride Dumfries Scotland UK.

The first combine with the  Q registration plate started off its working life after being sold in 1984 by MF dealer Baird and son Annan Scotland, and after four seasons was sold on again in the Dumfries area.

The next owner of the combine traded in the combine in the mid nineties where it was eventually sold to the current owners Frank Henderson and sons Kirkbride Dumfries.

The second Combine is owned by a friend of the Henderson family Phill Armstrong who runs a joinery business and also collects MF tractors and machinery, both of these Combines are put to work every season cutting just over 70 acres of cereal crops which they accomplish with very few problems as they are kept in tip top order and our a cost effective way of cutting your crops when they are ready to cut and particularly this far North the weather patterns can be very unpredictable as this particular 2017 harvest turned out to be.

The 530 and 535 combines continued the line up immeadiately after the Kilmarnock built 520 525 and 625 Combines, although these combines enjoyed nearly a decade of sales and popularity,their French built counterparts unfortunately didn’t quite put Massey back to a strong position in harvester sales, and they never enjoyed volume sales, and some would comment un reliability was also a factor.

With the company riding a wave of debt here in Europe and particularly Canada time had run out and Marquette and Brantford ceased combine production by the late 1980s

We would never see again a combine built exclusively by Massey Ferguson as a company, but the future would involve combines built and badged by other companies under the Agco brand.

One thing is for sure, The combines that are left still harvesting today go about their business with some careful TLC from their owners! Which in return offers a cost effective return on a business that’s largely very tight on profitable returns.

I would like to thank Martin Little for contacting Yellowswirl and forwarding the photos of the Combines.

And Thanks to the Henderson family, and Phil Armstrong for details of their machines.

Kind Regards