Tractor gives students access to latest technology
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students will be able to learn on the latest equipment thanks to the generosity of a farm equipment manufacturer and a farm machinery dealer.
AGCO, a farm machinery designer, manufacturer and distributer, has provided the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory with a new Massey Ferguson tractor through a no-cost lease agreement, said Curtis Powell, field lab superintendent. The Massey Ferguson 7620 tractor was provided by C&R Implement Company in Williamston.
Powell said the tractor will be used for six months and approximately 200 hours, at which time it will be exchanged for a new tractor.
The tractor will be used for classes and demonstrations and normal work around the field lab, which is just south of the Raleigh city limits on Lake Wheeler Road.
Dr. Gary Roberson, associate professor and North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, said students will have access to the latest tractor design and equipment.
The tractor has the latest GPS equipment, Roberson said, and will be used in a precision agriculture class he teaches each spring. The presence of the tractor will allow faculty members to give demonstrations of the latest variable rate technology and various agricultural implements.
AGCO supports more productive farming through a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, tillage implements, grain storage and protein production systems as well as related replacement parts. AGCO products are distributed globally through 3,150 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries.
C&R Implement Company has been selling and servicing farm machinery in Martin County and the surrounding area since 1963.
— Dave Caldwell
