Tractor sales dropped by almost 16% in May compared with the same month last year, reports the Agricultural Engineers Association.

But the numbers of tractors sold so far this year is just about the same as the same five-month period last year.

However, as the industry expected, the tractor sales graph is beginning to turn unmistakeably downwards after a sales bonanza in February and March. The 15.9% drop in July follows a 6.2% fall in April, a 15.5% rise in March, a 24% rise in February and a 3% rise in January.