Cumbrian Silage ‘25 Five MFs from a classic 148 to a modern 5S.145 rake, bale, cart, wrap 1st crop.

A visit to one of my most regular farms to catch the first field of this year’s silage crop being baled.
With a very wide range of machinery spanning 50 years of production that includes 1970s, 80s and 90s MF classic tractors and right up to date modern machinery there was plenty to film under the blue skies and blazing sunshine.
Making a very tidy job of rowing-up ahead of the baler was a now rarely seen early black-cab MF operating with a twin-rotor Westmac-Stoll 655AS rake. Considering the MF 390 (it does say 390T on the bonnet but isn’t turbocharged) is now 39 years old it is in simply outstanding condition and has obviously well looked after and from the rear of the cab view the Westmac rake was leaving a very neat windrow indeed.
Following on from the MF 390 was the farms 20 year old MF 6475 and brand new for this season a McHale F5500 round baler, the farm in previous years having brought in contractors to bale their silage crop.
Loading the bales was a mid-1990s MF 390T and Trima 1490 front loader while in charge of transporting the bales back to the yard on a Marshall flat-bed trailer was the farms most modern tractor, a MF 5S.145 it’s styling light years ahead compared to the other Masseys on the farm.
Back in the yard the very nimble Merlo P27.6 telehandler was offloading the trailer and building the bale stacks that were being wrapped by a McHale 991 static wrapper powered by one of two of the farms MF 148 tractors, still in its original paint (you can just make out the peeling multipower sticker on the bonnet) but not on its original and much wider tyres that I can’t imagine being a factory option when it was new!
It’s always a pleasure to visit this farm, especially so on an evening like this, beautiful countryside, a spotless yard and immaculate machinery (a big fleet so I never know what will be working until I get there) that glistens under the sunny blue skies.
I would have like to film more footage of the loading and wrapping operations but it was a very hot evening to be running around the field (the air-conditioning in the MF 6475 was most welcome) and also after a long day at work I was ready for my tea!
Filmed in Cumbria 11th June 2025.

Quick question for anyone interested in answering? What are your thoughts the MF 5S.145 that with all its technological advancements and certainly a very capable and comfortable tractor, will it however like the MF 148 (or in fact the 390 for that matter) still be around in 50 years time working for a living! Replies on a post card or if easier in the comments section!


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