The Tractor of the Year Awards were announced at the EIMA international farm machinery show in Italy last week.

Taking top honours was the Case Optum 300 CVX, which was awarded tractor of the year 2017 beating the Fendt 516 Vario, Deutz-Fahr 6215 RCshift, Steyr 4145 Profi CVT, Massey Ferguson 6718S, McCormick X8.680 VT-Drive and, appearing for the first time in its 70-year history, the Zetor Forterra HD 140.

In other categories, the Deutz-Fahr 6215 RCshift took the best design award, while the winners of the best utility and best specialised categories were the New Holland T5.120 and the Antonio Carraro Tony 9800 TR, respectively.

Held annually since 1998, the international award is decided by agricultural writers from 23 European countries, including Ireland. In allocating the awards, jury members evaluate each machine, emphasising technical aspects, design ergonomics, quality of the machine and performance in actual working conditions. There are four different awards which manufacturers can nominate a tractor for, including tractor of the year, best utility, best specialised and best design.

Nominated tractors must be presented to the jury during the kick-off event “Let the Challenge Begin” and must also be in production by September of the awarding year. Each manufacturer can only nominate one tractor per category and cannot nominate anything that was shortlisted in previous competitions.