Massey-Ferguson type 780 combine harvester thresher J 3162 C.

Massey-Fergusson Type 780 combine harvester, 1953-1962. Registration number J 3162 C. Made by Massey Ferguson at their factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland, this machine is of a generation of combines which brought mechanised cereal harvesting to a large number of farmers in Britain and throughout the world. In the UK, the use of combines had been boosted by the need to increase food production during the Second World War. Food shortages after the war meant that the use of combines continued to increase, until they became a common sight in the 1950's. Of note is that this machine is a 'bagger' combine. It delivered its grain graded into sacks as did the threshing machines it replaced. The filled sacks were off-loaded from the combine while it was moving, down a chute onto the field surface. The sacks were then collected by trailer and taken away to be dried. With the growth of bulk handling of cereals, the 'bagger' was overtaken and supplanted by the 'tanker' combine we see in the grain fields today.