For the 10th month in succession, UK agricultural tractor registrations in August were above their level a year earlier – despite ongoing supply problems from manufacturers.

The monthly UK total of 829 machines was up by more than a quarter, compared with August, 2020, and was close to the average for the time of year during 2015-19. This brings the total for the year to date to 8693 tractors, or 23% more than in the same period last year and 6% higher than the five-year average for the opening eight months of the year.

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The number of machines registered over the latest 12-month period has now moved back above 12,000 for the first time since the end of 2019 – in the year to August, 2020, fewer than 10,000 tractors were registered.

The Agricultural Engineers Association, which compiles the stats, said numbers might have been even higher but for ongoing disruptions to global supply chains, linked to Covid-19. These have led to an increase in delivery lead times for some machines.

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A shortage of computer chips, components and even tyres have put a brake on manufacturing for some major brands, though this is now beginning to ease. Even some of the major names will now have lead in times between order and delivery of some months and this is one reason why the second hand market in good tractors and machinery is also very strong at the moment.

In this special feature, we take a look at what's new in the market and as always connectivity is the name of the game, though there are some areas of the market where no frills tractors are making inroads.

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