According to figures released by the AEA number of agricultural tractors registered in the UK during May fell below the level recorded a year before.

"However," said Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the Association, "registrations were unusually strong in May 2022 and this year's figure was still above the recent average for the time of year. At 1,015 machines, registrations were 21% lower than a year before but 3% above the seasonal average from the previous five years."

The total number of machines logged in the year to date remains higher than in January to May 2022 and was the highest total for the opening five months of the year since 2019.