The new Tractor of the Year formula
The prestigious international award comes to the 46th edition of the event with many new features, starting with the category for robotic tractors. Another novelty concerns the award for open-field tractors, which has been divided into two distinct power ranges
The Tractor of the Year changes skin. On the occasion of the 46th edition of EIMA International, the world exhibition of agricultural machinery held in Bologna from 6 to 10 November, the prestigious international competition presents itself to sector operators and the general public of the event with a renewed formula. At the basis of this change - explain the organizers of the award - is the desire to keep pace with the innovations that in the last decade have radically changed not only the technological profile of agricultural machinery but, also and above all, the way of doing agriculture. In short, a prestigious and authoritative event like the Tractor of the Year could not fail to enhance the boom in digitalisation and highly automated systems, the diffusion of which on an increasingly larger scale is revolutionizing agricultural practice. Hence the decision to include a new category within the contest, designed for Robots. This is the TotYBot, a section dedicated exclusively to robotic tractors without cab, equipped with 3-point hitch, PTO, and with a TRL (the Technical Readiness Level-TRL is an index that measures the stage of development of a technology) of level 8, which indicates the availability of "complete and qualified systems", even if not yet marketed. Vehicles, that is, which have reached their final stage of development but are still available on the market.
To award the prizes in this category, the TotY organizers have activated a partnership with the FederUnacoma technical office, which, thanks to its engineering expertise, will provide a series of valuable information and technical details for the jury, both in identifying the vehicles to "nominate" and focusing on the evaluation parameters. Specific parameters, obviously, i.e. distinct from those taken into consideration for conventional models.
Another important novelty of the TotY is that relating to the open field tractors section, now divided into two categories. The TotY HighPower, where machines with a power exceeding 300 horsepower compete, and the TotY MidPower reserved for medium-power vehicles (from 150 to 280 horsepower). If the first places the emphasis on high-end machines and the role they play in improving productivity, efficiency and sustainability in agriculture, the second instead focuses on more versatile models, designed to adapt to a wide range of processes. There is nothing new, however, for the other three traditional sections of the TotY: the TotY Utility, which rewards models for small-scale agriculture (with powers from 70 to 140 horsepower, maximum 4 cylinders, and with an operating weight not exceeding to 9,000 kilograms), the TotY Specialized, for orchard, vineyard, hill and mountain tractors (with power greater than 40 horsepower) and the Sustainable TotY, which brings to the fore sustainable technologies and practices for the primary sector. The new Tractor of the Year will make its official debut on November 6th on the opening day of EIMA International, when the names of the winners of the six categories of Toty 2025 will be revealed.
