John Deere has named Europe’s top self-propelled forage harvester drivers for 2017 in a unique social media campaign.

Contractor Simon Burton of D & B Farming at Leasingham, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire was featured last week as the UK & Ireland’s Chopping Pro on a mobile billboard in his local area.

Simon Burton UK & Ireland’s Chopping Pro

Simon’s success follows that of his brother and co-director James Burton, who was one of two representatives from the UK & Ireland at this summer's John Deere & Michelin European Drivers' Championship in France, where he was placed 4th out of 16 tractor drivers.

Simon Burton registered for the Chopping Pro campaign via John Deere’s Facebook page in order to get as many likes from the internet community as possible. A total of 64 operators from seven countries entered the contest on Facebook, and 484 people voted for Simon Burton’s post, in which he said: “I love driving the John Deere 8600i and think it’s an engineering genius, so please vote for me!”

Simon was rewarded with a professional photo and video shoot at his local John Deere dealership Sharmans Agricultural Ltd of Grantham. The resulting pictures, taken in front of a new 8000 Series self-propelled forage harvester, were displayed last Friday (27th October) on a special mobile billboard that was driven on a route from Sharmans’ Gonerby Moor, Grantham headquarters to Simon’s home village of Leasingham.

Simon Burton also received a John Deere 8000 Series SPFH driver’s gift pack, including a cap, polo shirt, overalls, waistcoat, softshell jacket, thermal mug and a 99-piece tool box.