The ‘state of the nation’ survey – conducted with almost 3,000 farmer participants in recent weeks by AgriLand and Empathy Research – has revealed respondents’ favourite machinery brand.

2,921 respondents participated in this broad-ranging, open (online) survey, conducted through AgriLand.

The survey opened on Wednesday, September 11, and closed on Monday, September 16.

In the questionnaire respondents were asked: “Which of the following is your favourite farming machinery brand?”

Options listed, in alphabetical order, included: Case IH; Claas; Deutz-Fahr; Fendt; John Deere; Kubota; Landini; Lely; Massey Ferguson; McCormick; McHale; New Holland; and Valtra.

In what was a narrow-margin “victory” in this ‘clash of the giants’, Massey Ferguson was respondents’ brand of choice, with 24% of participants selecting the ‘classy Massey’.

In a close second, New Holland was chosen by 22% of respondents, while John Deere rounded off the top three with a healthy 17% of the vote.

A gap emerged then with the rest of the brands; Case IH was picked by 9% of respondents.

Next up, both Valtra and Deutz-Fahr were the brands of choice for 4% of participants, while Fendt obtained 3% of votes.

Claas, Landini and McHale each secured a 2% share of votes, while McCormick, Lely and Kubota all received a vote from 1% of participants.

Finally, 7% of respondents selected an “other” option.

In terms of parent company groups, both AGCO (owner of the Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra brands) and CNH (owner of the Case IH and New Holland brands) were the big winners from the survey results, with a combined 31% of participants voting for brands under both companies’ ownership.