Lined up on a former World War Two airfield in Lincolnshire was the machinery fleet of Aitken and Merry which was going under the hammer of auctioneer Brown & Co. Here is our pick of the lots which were on offer.

Falling into the working classic camp was this John Deere 8400. The year 2000 tractor had clocked 7,970 hours and found a new postcode for £36,500. Tyre wise, it was well booted on 600/65 R28, 710/70 R38s and was sold with the 20 front weights.
£1,100 was the winning bid for this modified 3.0m wide Simba Mono. A precursor to the Simba Solo, this 1984 machine had a front disc gang, four subsoiling legs and a rear packer
There have been some nice 7530s in auctions lately and this 2009 model didn’t disappoint – it made £42,800. The Premium spec tractor had an AutoQuad box, axle and cab suspension, three electric spool, 1,150kg John Deere weight, and BKT 540/65 R30 and 650/65 R42s with a lot of tread left.
The 1999 Simba 23C, trailed discs made £4,000. The front gang still had plenty of metal but the rear discs were getting down. The 4.5m cultivator had hydraulic folding, rear drawbar for towing a press with the hydraulic services also at the rear.
£21,500 secured this 2010 John Deere 750A drill. This 6.0m version had covered 5,084ha. Spec wise it was all pretty standard with bout markers and following harrow.
Not your usual farm handler, the 1990 JCB 435 shovel on Michelin 20-5R25 x tyres, had clocked 10,628 hours. It made a reasonable £6,800.
Another of the big sale attractions was this 2002 John Deere 7810 with a PowrQuad 40km/hr box. Selling for £41k,it was a very nice 8,691 hour example with front suspension, front linkage and Firestone 600/65 R28 and BKT 710/70 R38 rear tyres with plenty of grip
In good condition was the 4.6m Simba CultiPress which added £4,100 to the kitty. This 1999 version had two rows of rigid tines but no levelling paddles to divert clods into the path of the DD press rings.
The newest grain trailer in the sale was this 2023 Bailey TB2 18 tonner which made £21,200. Spec wise it had a sprung drawbar, air and hydraulic brakes with load-sensing, rollover sheet, hydraulic tailgate, grain chute and Michelin VF 560/60 R22.5 wheels.
Heading into its 10th harvest, this 2017 Bailey 18t grain trailer made £18,400. It also had a good spec with sprung drawbar, air and hydraulic brakes, rear clevis, rollover sheet, hydraulic tailgate, grain chute and BKT 560/60 R22.5 tyres.
A prime mover for Aitken and Merry was the 2000 Claas Challenger 95E. With 9,632 hours it was snapped up for £13,400 but the 28-inch tracks were getting down.
£9,200 bought this 2009 Chafer Guardian 4000 trailed sprayer. A 24m machine, it had a steering axle and was wearing Petlas 460/85 R38 tyres.
Also dating from 2009 was this £13,400, Knight 3,500-litre self-propelled with just 5,360 hours. The 24m boom had triple nozzle bodies, section control, air shut off and was using an AgLeader GPS, It was sold on its Michelin VF 600/60R28 tyres.
The paintwork on this 1990 Ford 7810 Generation III was looking a bit weather worn but it still managed to bring in £20,100 thanks to it being a Silver Jubilee model. It was on 14.9R24, 16.9R38 tyres and had ten wafer weights.
Looking good for a 20 year old spreader, this 2006 Amazone ZAM 1200 sold for just £1,200.
This 2010 John Deere 6930 had clocked just over 500 hours per year, showing just 8,564 in total. Looking an honest example, it was a straightforward spec – 40km/hr Quad box, front suspension, three manual spools, 900kg weight block, and BKT 540, 650 tyres. It headed away from Hardwick Lodge Farm for £38k.
The 2017 JCB Loadall 535-95 Agri Pro T4 IV telehandler with 6,435 hours made a respectable £37k. The Vredestein 500/70 R24 tyres were over half worn. It was fitted with a pick up hitch and Q headstock.
£25k was the winning bid for this 2019 Sumo Mixidisc 6.0m hydraulic folding discs with, levelling paddles, large packer rear services and drawbar. The wearing metal was needing a refresh.

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