It’s not fair to compare the original Massey-Harris No. 20 combine, arguably a Class 1 and introduced 70 years ago, to the latest Class 8 Massey Ferguson, the 9895.
However, it is fair to say the Massey 20, the world’s first self-contained combine, set a precedent that changed agricultural production forever. Earlier self-propelled combines were not self-contained, but were designed to hang on a tractor.
The first limited production version of the No. 20, produced in Toronto in 1938, was too heavy and too expensive for large-scale manufacturing. But that small handful of combines provided a closely followed pattern for the lighter, cheaper No. 21 that farmers across North America came to know. The machines were built into the 1950s with A and B designations.
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Jump forward seven decades from that first machine. The latest offering from Massey is the giant MF 9895, a combine that employs all the latest in electronic and mechanical technology.
At first glance, a person assumes there’s no comparison between the two machines. But put the evolutionary improvements aside for a moment and consider these facts.
The basic combine architecture introduced in 1938 is still used on all modern combines, regardless of brand. The modern combine is a self-propelled, self-contained harvesting device that combines the functions previously performed by a number of different crop gathering machines.
The on-board engine powers the front drive wheels, there’s a header to gather the crop, an on-board threshing plant to separate the grain, systems to move grain and residue and a mechanism for unloading grain from the temporary storage bin. Rear tires do the steering.
By now, all of those components have undergone many generations of extensive evolutionary improvements, especially in the threshing department. But the basic No. 20 concept remains largely unchanged.
North America was preparing for war in 1938 as Massey-Harris engineer Tom Carroll supervised construction and testing of his first few No. 20 combines.
Steel, rubber and other materials to build farm implements were on a strict quota system because they would be required for the war effort. It was understood that gasoline to fuel farm implements would soon be on a quota system, also.
This environment was clearly not conducive to the introduction of a radical new farm implement. But Carroll saw something else. Conventional harvest methods tied up more machinery, plus they required more manpower and fuel. He also played on the obvious fact that food production on the North American continent would become even more critical if there was a major war in Europe.
Farming, especially harvest, must become more efficient. He knew that it must not step backward to the days of horses, steam machines and big threshing crews. Those big threshing crews soon would be overseas carrying rifles.
The Canadian-based Massey Harris Co. convinced the company and eventually the U.S. government that a self-propelled combine would allow the harvest to become more efficient with fewer workers and less fuel.
It would also free up about 1,000 tractors to perform other farm work. To top it off, there would be a total saving of a half million gallons of fuel per year.
The No. 21 combine was already tested and in limited production in 1940. This is a seldom-seen version of the combine, made with a thicker, unpainted galvanized steel. It is believed that few were produced, although no one seems to have an exact count.
The No. 21 was small enough to load on the back of a flatbed truck, allowing custom operators to more easily follow the harvest north from Texas. Technicians from Massey accompanied the harvest.
Following a few early wartime galvanized units, the first red model 21s began entering what became known as the Harvest Brigades. With its own engine, the Massey 21 had onboard 60 horsepower of gasoline-fueled harvest fury.
A variable speed unit paired with a three speed transmission put the power on the ground. A wooden pitman arm carried energy to the threshing components. The 65 bushel grain tank had as much capacity as some of the trucks sent to the field to unload the machine.
While accurate statistics about unload rates are few, the No. 21 was known to clear its tank in about 10 minutes. Straight cut header sizes were 10 feet, 12 feet and 14 feet.
The machines were capable of marching through a 25-bu.-per-acre wheat crop, with a 10 foot header at up to four miles per hour, knocking off between 100 and 150 bu. an hour depending on the crop and the conditions.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Massey-Harris became a recognized leader in combine development, with each new model featuring new technology and capability.
Today’s Class 8 combines are capable of taking in well over 2,000 bushels of small grain crops every hour.
The biggest branch on the evolutionary Massey family tree is the Class 8 MF 9895. Power comes from a 12.5 litre Cat C13 ACERT diesel putting out 425 h.p., with power bulge to 459 h.p. The combine has a four-speed hydrostatic drive with spur type final drive.
The hydrostatically driven threshing rotor is 31.5 inches in diameter and 140 inches long. It’s powered by its own dedicated pump and hydrostatic motor. The rotor’s gearbox has three speed ranges covering 200 to 1,040 r.p.m. The machines have a 55 inch wide feeder house throat, wider than the exterior of the No. 21’s threshing chamber.
The nine-section concave with 161 degrees of wrap has 2,721 sq. inches of area. Speed of the 13 inch diameter cleaning fan is electronically adjusted from the operator’s seat, providing high volumes of low velocity air. The transverse fan spins from 500 to 1,350 r.p.m. Chaffer area is 4,426 sq. inches. Sieve area is 3,783 sq. inches.
There are four methods of residue control: direct discharge; two-speed straw spreader; two-speed hi-velocity chopper and chaff spreader. The model 21 had an optional spinning metal propeller for the chaff and straw.
The 15 inch unload auger handles 4.5 bu. per second, allowing the 350 bu. hopper to empty in 88 seconds.
Modern day Massey engineers have worked hard to reduce the width of cab pillars on the 9895, improving operator visibility. The No. 21 had no visibility issues because it had no cab.
The cab on the 9895 is a climate controlled office with optional heated leather seating. The No. 21 had a steel seat with an optional canvas sunshade.
A new two-speed rear wheel assist option lets the operator choose high torque for muddy conditions or higher ground speed in more favourable conditions.
In 1947, the wheat price on the Prairies was about a $1.90 per bu. and the combines of the day sold for about $5,000 or 2,631 bu. of grain.
Today’s wheat prices are in the $10 range. An equivalent combine based on today’s grain prices would cost about $26,000. State-of-the-art machines harvest between 14 and 20 times as fast as the model 21, making them good value in the capacity game.
