Congrats to Lee Pemberton for being named Operator of the Year for 2023 by AGCO. Lee lives in Hallock, MN where he works at Makin' Trax Contractors. Aside from over 25 years of hard work as an operator, he is a devoted father and grandfather, attending their various extracurricular activities and even including them in hunting trips. He consistently puts in over 5,000 hours a year working for his community's volunteer ambulance and serves on the hospital board. 

Since 2006, AGCO has honored the hard work of ag retailers and custom applicators in North America with the Operator of the Year program. These dedicated men and women are evaluated based on their performance both on and off the field, including criteria such as skill, dedication, customer service, and community involvement. 

In 2017, Asmark collaborated with AGCO to develop the Applicator Training Course hosted in Bloomington, Illinois at Asmark’s Applicator Training Center. Two courses were developed for beginner and experienced applicators. The beginner course is designed to help new applicators with the basic skills required for becoming a professional operator. The experienced course is a refresher for more seasoned applicators with several years of experience.