Big power farm tractors tend to catch the limelight yet their little counterparts with modest power but great manoeuvrability play an important role in farm yards and in and around buildings.
"And there's no reason why these smaller tractors shouldn't be as well built," says Alistair Matthews of Yorkshire Compact Tractors. "They need to be just as reliable and durable to perform and provide a long service life."
That is one reason why Mr Matthews has started supplying the McCormick X10 Series, a range of compact tractors from 22hp to 54hp that can be used as yard scraping tractors on dairy units or for horticultural and light paddock work.
"I started my business supplying low-cost compact tractors, mostly to private users and smallholders who don't put a lot of hours on them," he says. "But there's also a market for well-built machines produced by major manufacturers, so I jumped at the chance to supply the McCormick X10 range."
As a youngster brought up in a farming family, Alistair Matthews took a keen interest in tractors at an early age. He is a mechanic by trade and started servicing and repairing machines locally before starting to supply new tractors together with a range of implements from rotary slashers to handy trailers.
His introduction to the McCormick X10 Series started at the Harworth near Doncaster premises of GB distributor AgriArgo UK: "I could see that the X10 tractors are up there with the best," he says. "I'm ambitious to grow my business and move to bigger, better premises, so taking on a professional range was a no-brainer to expand my potential customer base."
A new website presents information on the McCormick compacts, which offer a choice of mechanical and hydrostatic drive, open platforms and cabs, and a range of power outputs to suit different implements and applications.
Parts support at this stage will be provided by the extensive stock held by AgriArgo at Harworth, backed up by a European parts distribution centre in northern France.
"If you're using a compact tractor day in, day out it needs to be durable and robust, and it needs to be supported by a professional parts and service operation," says Mr Matthews. "That's what buyers get when they put a McCormick X10 on to their farm."
In addition to these general purpose power units, Yorkshire Compact Tractors is also an agent for the Valpadana range of 'alpine' tractors distributed by AgriArgo. These heavy-duty machines are designed for maximum stability and traction to work in challenging locations or where plenty of power and traction are needed in the tight confines of a polytunnel – for table top strawberry production, for example.
“They may be relatively small in size but with power outputs up to 100hp they can tackle all sorts of demanding jobs," Alistair Matthews points out. "The Valpadana models take a lot of beating for the combination of size and power, as well as the stability needed for upland work.”
