According to figures released by the AEA, UK agricultural tractor registrations were once again slightly below last year's level in March.

"However," said Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the AEA, "as March 2021 saw the highest number of registrations for any month since 2012, that is hardly surprising.

"This year's total of 1,976 machines was only 5% lower and was almost 20% higher than the average for the time of year between 2016 and 2020."

Registrations for the year to date were 7% lower than in the first quarter of last year but 8% above the recent average, at 3,047 machines.