Welcome to the first edition of Service Dealer Ireland for 2023. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas with your families and loved ones. I wish you all the very best in health and prosperity for 2023. I hope you are still on track with your New Year resolutions.

2022 saw a mixed set of fortunes for our industry. On the bright side we saw, in January, the relaxing of lockdown rules. People could now come to our showrooms, without restrictions on numbers entering the premises and not having to wear masks. However, in February, the war in Ukraine broke out, causing energy prices to sky rocket, which created an added expense to running our businesses. Supply shortages of parts and equipment continued. Even though order books were full, these supply shortages meant delays in delivering products to our customers.

2022 saw the first Farmdroid machine arrive in Ireland. This robotic ‘tractor’ that plant and weed up to 10 hectares of land. It is powered by a large solar panel acting as a roof. No human operates it and can operate both day and night. Could this machine gain traction for popularity in 2023? 

I am hopeful that 2023 will be a lot better. I believe that the backlog of orders will ease and that we will, once again, be able to deliver, on time, to our customers. One issue that will be a challenge for us in 2023 will be the continued saga of recruitment. Hiring in trained staff has always been a problem in our industry. Thinking of unique incentives to lure in potential employees will be one way of getting over the problem. According to the latest CEMA figures, in 2019, there were almost 3,000 people employed by dealers and distributors in Ireland. These figures can be viewed in the recently published CEMA Industry Report for 2022. The Report also says that Germany was the largest employer in the agricultural equipment sector in 2019 with 48, 452 employed in agricultural equipment manufacturing and 30,142 employed by distributors and dealers.

So what is in store for the coming year? The demand for robotic mowers and electrically powered equipment will probably still continue to grow. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) predict an increase of over 15% of agricultural and horticultural robotic machines in 2023. Their joint survey reported 19,000 robotic units sold in 2022 and see this rising to 22,000 in 2023. Should that figure ring true it will see a more than doubling of such equipment since 2019, when 10,000 units were sold.

The quest for finding alternative fuels will be high on the agenda in 2023. There hasn’t been much of a breakthrough but methane gas in liquid form and hydrogen could be the way forward. Some of the big tractor manufacturers, such as New Holland, are already working on these developments.

Looking more to the immediate future, I would like to remind you of the up and coming shows that are happening this month. Tomorrow and Wednesday (10th & 11th Jan) will see the staging of the LAMMA 2023 farm machinery show. It will be held at the NEC Birmingham and will see over 600 exhibitors showcasing the latest tractors, combines, arable and grassland machinery, as well as a wide range of new technology, services and tools for every sector. Visit www.lammashow.com to register or find out more.

For those of you who would rather stay nearer to home, this Wednesday and Thursday (11th & 12th Jan.), the Association of Turfgrass Professionals (ATPI) will hold their conference at the Galmont Hotel & Spa in Galway. The event includes a trade show that will include machinery stands. An outdoor demonstration of equipment will be held at Galway Bay Golf Club on Thursday the 12th of January. To register to attend the conference, or to find out more visit www.atpi.ie 

At the end of the month, the biggest turf management exhibition in Europe takes place from January 22nd – 26th. This is of course BTME and it will be held at the Harrogate Convention Centre, England. To find out more visit www.btme.org.uk