I'm in Grand Junction for our Western Colorado Horticulture Society conference. We have a small farm show of new mostly orchard and vineyard machinery. One dealer, Western Implement, reps NH, MF and Kubota. They had a couple of each tractor on display. The MF had just been delivered on Saturday and the salesmen hadn't really had a chance to check it out until today. I was comparing the three and decided the MF had the heaviest axles, although the Kubota was almost as big. All three were 45 - 50 hp. Looking at the MF, it was more of the old style with the transmission above the floor, Kubota and Ford, woops, NH had the flat deck. I got to looking, the MF is made in India by Tafe with a Simpson engine. Comparing prices, the two wheel drive Kubota was 18,000, the NH (FWA and loader) was $26,000 and the two wheel drive MF $20 grand. If I were looking for a two wheel drive utility tractor, I would go with the Kubota, much more modern design, known manufacturer, and CHEAPER!, not to mention Orange! Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think it costs a whole lot less to build a tractor in India then Japan.
To me, good ole AGCO screwed themselves again, of course that is my own personal opinion.
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