After what many would probably agree was a subdued 2021 show held when the country was see-sawing between coronavirus lockdowns, this week’s Cereals 2022 event, held near Royston on the Herts/Cambs border, had a reasonable air of optimism about it, writes Martin Rickatson.

Granted, it might not have been as buzzing or as full of big names as a similar event a decade or two ago, but while some of the key brands in the tractor and implement businesses continued to stay away, others remained committed, some had enlarged their stands and others had returned. Certainly the show felt a little smaller than it some might recall, but at the mid-morning peak on the first day at least, there appeared to be were healthy visitor numbers and plenty of serious discussions going on. The second day was said to be quieter, but then to be fair the final day of most shows tends to be, whether a two, three or four-day event.

The model increasingly adopted at the UK’s main farm shows of using dealers to support the national event in their locality continues to work for some at Cereals, with local dealer Tuckwells, for example, having a significant presence on the John Deere stand. Others such as Fendt and particularly New Holland looked to have increased their stand spaces, and implement importers such as Opico, KRM and Horsch’s UK subsidiary all had significant stands showing a wide range or crop establishment and treatment equipment.

Robotics and autonomous equipment was a key theme, with Opico demonstrating its recently-launched Farmdroid solar-powered machine, which will be covered in-depth in a forthcoming issue of Service Dealer. Fendt showed off a smaller version of its Sennebogen-sourced telehandler with lifting cab, while Sands revealed a new flagship sprayer and New Holland unveiled its new round baler range-topper.

So there was plenty new to see - which will be covered in the next issue of the magazine - and on the basis of this show Cereals looks to still have a fair future, particularly with commodity prices remaining high. However, with many input cost issues yet to really make their impact, it will be interesting to see how the challenging year ahead - the 2022-23 cropping year - pans out, and what impact that has on next year's show.