On 17 August, conditions were finally right at Home Farm in Lyminge, Kent, for Rodney Broadley to harvest a crop with his 1970 Ransomes Crusader 2800B.
A keen agricultural machinery enthusiast, and farmer/contractor, last year Rodney decided to plant 15 acres to harvest with his classic combine, after spraying off the mustard. Farming is in his blood, and when he was just 12 he was driving a Massey-Harris 780 tanker combine with 10ft cut on the neighbouring Longage Farm. The 780 cost £1,389 in 1954, he recalls
A Massey Ferguson 500, which came from Arter Brothers in Barham, Kent, was part of the family business, but later a Ransomes Cavalier joined the fold, and it was a Rolls-Royce compared to what had gone before, according to Rodney, although a small Claas Mercator 60 did the job effectively too.
Last July, Rodney visited well-known combine dealer
