Tractor sales for May 2015 slumped to just 845 units (tractors over 50hp), a drop of 32.7% compared with May 2014 according to figures issued by the Agricultural Engineers Association.

However, with April sales being on a par (1291) with the same month last year, the year on year drop for the first five months of 2105 compared with 2014 is 17.8% - still a significant downturn.

It is not only the UK that is affected, the German tractor market was down 16% in the first quarter, and the French market 15% down.

One of the issues that dealers face, which is impacting on new sales, is the ‘log-jam’ of second-hand tractors which are increasingly difficult to shift through the normal export routes, particularly in Europe.