Arable farmers struggle to invest in new tractors
© Tim Scrivener Arable farming regions of the UK are lagging behind the rest of the country in terms of new tractor purchases, as rising costs and stagnant prices continue to squeeze margins.
Figures from the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) actually point to some recovery in the tractor market so far this year.
See also: Tractor registrations for 2025 the lowest since records began
Data for the first three months of 2026 put the number of new machines just shy of 3,000 units registered, up by more than a third compared with the same period last year.
However, looking at regional trends, the AEA notes that, while most parts of the country have recorded year-on-year increases, the two exceptions are the South and East of England.
Indeed, there was a further 3.5% fall in registrations in the East Midlands and no change in the South East, compared with January to March 2025.
“That presumably reflects the challenging financial position of arable farmers, who make up a larger share of the agricultural sectors in those regions,” said AEA economist Stephen Howarth.
“Registrations generally performed better in regions where livestock farming predominates, with the North of England, Wales and Scotland all seeing sizeable increases.”
The biggest rise of all was in Northern Ireland, where more than twice as many tractors were registered in the first quarter of 2026 than in the same period last year.
Power bands
Broken down into power bands, the number of agricultural tractors registered grew in almost all categories, apart from the top (above 320hp) and bottom (51-100hp) of the range.
These saw declines of about 15%, continuing the downward trends seen in 2025.
The fastest growth in tractor registrations was seen in the 241-320hp range.
