The trade show calendar kicked off for 2026 this week, with LAMMA taking place at the NEC for the agricultural machinery sector.
I suspect many of our ag dealer readers made the trip the Birmingham - so please, if you did, let us know what you thought of the show in the comments below.
I suspect if you did attend, one word that will spring to mind to describe the event will be 'busy'. By all accounts the many halls were absolutely packed. I wasn't there personally (I'm saving myself for BTME in Harrogate next week), but the Service Dealer team were there in numbers, and all remarked on the feel of the show.
Contributor to our magazine and all round industry legend, Keith Christian who (how can one put this delicately?) . . has been around long enough to have attended quite a few of these, told me, "I have never seen the show so busy."
He continued, "The aisles were packed, with every stand crawling with visitors." Keith also remarked just how long it took him to drive into the NEC with traffic hugely built-up on the approaching motorway.
Service Dealer's Duncan Murray-Clarke and Keith Christian with the "retired" David Withers on the Iseki stand
Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke echoed these thoughts, describing the show as "Very busy. Rammed in fact."
Duncan continued, "It was great to see so many major dealers at the NEC this week. Names such as Turneys, Chandlers, Ernest Doe, Gammies and B&B were out in force. It was interesting to see Chandlers for example, selling kit directly off of the Milwaukee stand. I thought this was a fabulous idea."
Chandlers' Paul Davy with Duncan
Our agricultural machinery editor, Martin Rickatson, was of course also in attendance. You can read his initial overview thoughts of the show where he talks about a cautious optimism felt around the halls here - ahead of his in-depth article which will be published in the next issue of the magazine.
Duncan with Kramp's Des Boyd
As to why the show was so busy this week, that's an interesting question? One reason, of course, could have been that CropTec co-located with the main show for the first time (although LAMMA was far the bigger).
However, everyone involved in the sale of farm machinery knows just how tough that sector has been for the past couple of years - and indeed continues to be. Even with this knowledge, I was shocked to hear from the AEA today who describe the levels of tractor registrations for 2025 as being as low as pre-World War Two levels! The Association has promised further analysis of the sector for next week, so we'll look out for that with interest.
But if sales of ag equipment are as sluggish as all dealers know that they are, then why was LAMMA so heaving? Was it simply the weather? Do the current conditions mean that farmers have time on their hands, so why not visit a show? Is it a tradition for some to visit? The right time of year? Or might we dare to imagine that a busy show could be read as evidence of the green shoots of a turning tide? Were all those farming customers at the NEC this week simply for a day out? Or are they making genuine plans for machinery purchases this year?
When we've spoken to our ag machinery dealer readers recently, all will admit just how difficult the market is - but the consensus appears to be that it must turn around at some point. There will come a time, they say, where customers simply cannot do without new machines to run their businesses properly. So is that moment now? Is this week's LAMMA an indication of that? What do you think?
It will be fascinating to see if BTME follows suit next week with a packed show. BIGGA's event for their greenkeeper members always attracts healthy crowds. If the attendees are not there for the machinery exhibits, they most probably make the trip for the wealth of educational opportunities - and if not that, they certainly leave their golf courses for the "networking opportunities" available in Wetherspoons!
We've asked you before if you believe there is a linear connection between well-attended trade shows and bumper dealership sales? It's of course never quite as simple as that, but there must be some link or else why would all your supplying manufacturers spend huge figures on exhibiting? Yes brand-awareness is important, but that must have as its ultimate intention the driving of sales.
So, are you feeling positive as we head into 2026? What do you think, why was LAMMA so busy and is it an indication of improvements to come?
