What better way for Sparsholt College students to put their agriculture engineering skills into practice than to completely refurbish a College tractor which had seen better days?

Years of serving students well had taken its toll on the College’s Massey Ferguson scraper so step forward Level two and three Agriculture Mechanics who decided to use their workshop time to completely refurbish the tractor both mechanically and bodily. Under the guidance of Phil Russell the workshop service engineer, the students worked hard to create a professional finish, picking up many new skills in the process, with a Massey now ready to go back and work in the dairy.

Ryan Thorne, one of the students on the team, said: “I really enjoyed being part of the rebuild of this scrapper tractor. It’s nice when you see the end product and you know you did something towards it. I learnt lots of new skills such as spot welding and sheet metal work both of which will help me out later in life.”

The College’s Agriculture Engineering courses equip students with the knowledge, understanding and skills required in the land-based technology industry.  Based in the College’s brand new multi million pound Engineering complex students get to work on  a wide range of land-based machinery both at the College and at local dealers.

The course proved invaluable to students rebuilding the Massey as Harvey Read commented:  “It was very enjoyable working on the Massey Ferguson, as it has shown me more of how a tractor actually works and the components that are needed to make the tractor work. I would recommend the course to anyone in the Agricultural industry or those wishing to pursue a career in this industry.”

In the meantime the Massey is now back in action in the dairy and the students continue to work hard finishing this year.

To find out more about Agriculture Engineering courses please click here