The appointment of Luke Barnard as precision farming specialist, in addition to his role as area service manager for all of Ireland, strengthens the support available to dealers supplying Landini and McCormick tractors throughout the UK and Ireland.

Luke Barnard

Luke (27) joined the Argo Tractors operation with several years of technical experience working in machinery dealerships to add to his National Diploma in Land-Based Technologies gained with triple distinctions from Riseholme College in Lincolnshire where he lives.

“I’m loving the job,” he says. “It involves a lot of travel, especially to our dealers in Ireland and to the Argo Tractors factories in northern Italy for detailed technical training, but it’s nice to wake up looking forward to going to work.”

Argo Tractors  has a global partnership with Topcon Agriculture for precision farming technologies. Any Argo-built tractor can be equipped for guidance with a controller and AES-15 steering wheel drive unit, and larger models can be ordered from the factory guidance-ready with the electronics infrastructure already in place.

Topcon AGI-4 receivers and the X25 and X35 displays can then be installed by national specialist distributors – LH Agro in England, Scotland and Wales, and Topcon’s own operations in Ireland.

Luke Barnard explains: “We have a selection of guidance packages available for Landini 7 Series and McCormick X7 and X8 tractors, from a basic EGNOS system operating through our own Data Screen Manager display, to full RTK with variable rate and section control technologies provided by the Topcon X35 console."

In his area service manager role, Luke Barnard supports Landini and McCormick dealers throughout Ireland with product training and, when necessary, to help them identify and resolve technical issues.

Adrian Winnett, managing director of Argo Tractors operations in the UK and Ireland, says dealer service technicians are encouraged to keep up to date with the technical make-up and features of the products so they can maintain and repair them as quickly and efficiently as possible in support of customers.

“It’s important for dealers to have this independent capability but it’s also essential that we have the resources to support our dealers in that goal, through effective technical bulletins and face-to-face training.

“Luke joined us to perform that role throughout Ireland alongside the technical staff who support our growing network of dealers in Great Britain, but his past experience with precision farming technologies means he also brings important knowledge on this increasingly important aspect of tractor operation to our business.”