Massey Ferguson’s biggest tractor, the 425hp 9S, has used biofuel and biofuel blends to do a loop  of south-west WA. Photo: AGCO

A MASSEY Ferguson tractor has just completed a journey in Western Australia of more than 2500km,  powered all the way by renewable biofuels and biofuel blends.

Documented as part of Farm Trader’s Fuelling the Future of Australia series, the 13-day trip took the tractor, with Farm Trader presenter and president of the Tractor and Machinery Association of New Zealand Jaiden Drought at the wheel, from Perth to Bunbury via Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Albany.

During the journey, the 425 hp MF 9S Dyna-VT tractor recorded fuel consumption as low as 20.08 litres per hour, and used three different fuels, all supplied by Refuelling Solutions:

• HVO100, a drop-in hydro-treated vegetable oil made up of used cooking oil, mostly canola, and tallow;
• B20, a 1:4 mix of biodiesel and mineral diesel, and,
• B5, which is 5pc biodiesel.

Over the course of the 2500km journey, the MF 9S accumulated 47 engine hours and consumed 923 litres of fuel across a combination of renewable fuel blends.

Average fuel consumption was recorded at just 19.6 litres per hour, reinforcing the tractor’s ability to deliver impressive efficiency without compromising performance.

“We almost couldn’t run the three-fuel strategy because we simply weren’t burning enough fuel; it was simply too efficient,” Mr Drought said.

“Just over 20 litres per hour for a 425 hp tractor in anyone’s language is phenomenal.”

The journey demonstrated how renewable fuels can support a more sustainable agricultural sector while maintaining productivity and performance.

AGCO Australia’s Massey Ferguson tractors product marketing manager Chris Bain said the 9S range comes out of the Massey Ferguson factory in Beauvais, France,  and the 425hp is the largest production Massey Ferguson has ever built.

Along the tractor’s WA route, growers, industry leaders and agricultural experts shared their perspectives on how agricultural feedstocks may contribute to future energy solutions while supporting productive and sustainable farming systems.

The tractor was not a prototype, but a standard production machine, demonstrating that renewable fuels can be adopted today using existing agricultural equipment without significant modifications.

“Faced with growing questions around future energy supply and sovereign fuel security, this journey demonstrates that biofuel is already a practical, drop-in solution capable of supporting modern agricultural operations,” Mr Drought said.

“Australian farmers are continually looking for practical ways to improve productivity and sustainability.

“What this journey demonstrated is that renewable fuels can be used in a standard production tractor today, without compromising performance, reliability or operator comfort.”

Throughout the journey, MF Connect telemetry technology continuously monitored tractor performance, providing independent validation of the machine’s efficiency while operating on renewable fuels.

The MF 9S is powered by an 8.4-litre AGCO Power engine, and features the Protect-U design, which includes a distinctive 18cm gap between the cab and bonnet to help minimise heat transfer, noise and vibration from the engine and create a more comfortable operating environment.

The WA renewable fuel-powered journey for the MF 9S has joined a long list of notable Massey Ferguson accomplishments, including the Antarctica 1 and Antarctica 2 expeditions, world ploughing records, humanitarian initiatives such as Tractor’Dak and Africa Track, and the 2025 Morocco Desert Challenge.

Now available across Australia and New Zealand, the MF 9S is expected to build on the brand’s recent growth in the high-horsepower tractor segment.

Source: AGCO