Next generation tractors taken for a spin

The award-winning visitor attraction was brought to mechanical life with a convoy of McCormick tractors, attracting agricultural machinery dealers from across Britain to Branton near Doncaster - the city where the tractors were once built.

It was a chance for dealers to learn about and take for a spin around the park, new generation tractors for livestock and arable farms. Demonstrating just how far the technology has come in recent years, the machines featured touch-screen computer controls, automatic transmission and satellite navigation to guide a tractor across fields with 2cm accuracy.

The new models are being introduced this year by the sales and service team at Harworth-based McCormick distributor AgriArgo UK.

Ray Spinks, the firm’s sales director and general manager, said: “This is the sort of technology that brings added performance, fuel economy and precision to farming operations. It’s especially appreciated by a younger generation of farmers who use computers of one type or another in all aspects of their lives.”

The highest specification tractor was the McCormick X7 Series, with a range of up to 188 horsepower and aimed at arable farmers, contractors and large grassland or livestock producers, it comes with a 12-inch touch-screen control terminal.