One Man's Junk

The Massey Ferguson 540 below has been parked along Route 16 between Litchfield and Hillsboro for several weeks. It is for sale.  It reminds me of  a story that took place in 1986-87.

One day I stopped to see a farmer named Herbie who was combining corn with a John Deere 45 with a rounded back end.  That means it was ancient even then.  When I pulled up, Herbie jumped off the combine and started to complain about it.  He farmed less than 200 acres, but it was worn out even for that acreage.  A combine can be an expensive purchase for a small farmer.

A few days later, I stopped to see a guy named Lance.  Lance was sitting in an older Massey Ferguson complaining that the transmission had gone out and he wished he could find a newer more reliable combine.  Lance also farmed around 200 acres or maybe a bit more.

Fast forward a year.  I stopped in to see Lance and he was showing me a Massey Ferguson 540 like the one pictured below.  It had low hours considering its age.  Lance had bought it on auction.  Lance was very pleased with it and it was working well.

A few days later, I stopped to see Herbie.  He had bought Lance's old combine and could not have been happier with it.  It was in much better shape than his John Deere and doing just what he needed it to do.  The story proves the axiom that "One Man's junk is another man's treasure."