AEA announces its support for CESAR vehicle registration and security scheme 

The AEA has now formally announced its support for the CESAR vehicle registration and security scheme.  It is a regrettable fact that theft is becoming a greater threat for owners of larger mobile pieces of agricultural equipment but there are now steps that can be taken to deter thieves and the CESAR system has already proved itself in the construction area.  The AEA now endorses the system and a number of companies are now considering CESAR as standard.  The agreement with the CEA was signed on 3 November - the accompanying press release announces the signing carried out by Roger Lane-Nott on behalf of the AEA and Yvette Henshall-Bell on behalf of the CEA.
Full details of the scheme can be found at www.cesarscheme.org

• The Agricultural Industry Gets Behind CESAR.pdf
• CESAR Advert Farmers.pdf
• CEA and AEA Agreement.pdf

Article Posted Date: Friday, November 13, 2009

Tractor Registrations 

1,167 agricultural tractors (>50hp) were registered in September, a decrease of 30.7% on September 2008; year-to-date is now at 13,056 (11.3% down).

Article Posted Date: Monday, October 05, 2009

The UK Agricultural Equipment Market in the First Half of 2009 

British farmers are estimated to have spent just over £1 billion on farm equipment in the first 6 months of the year, rather similar to the level of a year earlier.

Tractors are generally the best indicator of activity and 9,224 units of over 50 hp were registered between January and June, a marginal decrease of 0.5% on the previous year. The average power has continued to move up sharply, to 140hp this year.

The other major sub-sector of the market is the combine harvester and whilst sales have not matched the highs of the previous season they still have been at the second highest level for a decade and a seasonal year market of well in excess of 900 units is assured. Another major sector in terms of machine value is the self-propelled forage harvester which has also sold strongly in the current seasonal year and is likely to exceed 150 units, which would be a small rise on the previous year.

Other machine types to have seen good demand include telescopic loaders, big balers and ploughs. In fact the number of machines delivered to dealers has been quite variable by type but in the broadest terms cultivation and soil preparation equipment have remained strong whilst much grassland equipment has fallen below last year’s levels. In the face of economic uncertainty it is understandable that dealers will be cautious about stocking levels

In terms of the value of sales tractors are presently showing a small increase whilst combine harvesters are somewhat below last year’s level. For the remaining types of machinery AEA surveys suggest that the value of sales in the first half has been very slightly above a year earlier in money terms.

There is little doubt that conditions in farming are less favourable than they were and that some of the business done in the earlier part of this year was pent-up demand generated by monies earned from the 2007 harvest. Last year’s harvest was abundant but also expensive to gather in and to dry. Autumn planting conditions were not favourable and the result was a lower planted area, especially of wheat, which when combined with the high fertiliser prices translated into significantly lower projected returns for the 2009 harvest. At the same time dairy farmers have been experiencing lower milk prices whilst also suffering high input costs. Livestock farming has been more positive but this sector is not a major purchaser of farm machinery.

The immediate outlook for demand for machinery for the rest of 2009 is therefore less strong than it was but then it was inevitable that markets fell back from the unusually high levels seen last year and in the early months of this. With the economic climate remaining unclear there is bound to be some caution in the market but the underlying outlook for farming remains better than for most other sectors. The trade is taking reassurance from the level of customer interest seen through this show season particularly in equipment that can provide economy and efficiency of production.

Article Posted Date: Friday, August 14, 2009

Ourdoor Power Equipment Price Guide Autumn 09 edition 

The next edition is being put together.  If you wish to have your company listed in the Guide please contact Debbie export@aea.uk.com  The Guide features prices for a wide range of machinery and accessories used in the land based equipment sector.

Article Posted Date: Monday, August 03, 2009

Dairy Event and Livestock Show to relocate to NEC in 2010 

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers is to relocate the Dairy Event and Livestock Show in 2010 to the NEC, Birmingham from its current Stoneleigh Park, Coventry site.

Article Posted Date: Friday, June 19, 2009

UK Tractor Registrations up 10.1% in 2008 

Total registrations of agricultural tractors reached 17,104 units last year in the UK - the highest level for more than a decade.

This exceptional year was based largely on the positive impact of cereal prices from the 2007 harvest and many family farmers in particular took the opportunity to make long-needed investment. Order levels through the 2007/8 winter were extremely strong and there were delays in delivering many models. As a result the first half of last year saw a 15% improvement in sales whereas the rate of increase dropped below 5% in the second half following the difficult and less rewarding 2008 grain harvest.

In the face of extraordinary economic conditions the immediate outlook is difficult to gauge; the industry is cyclical and the peak of 2008 cannot be expected to be repeated. However, the industry has a strong order bank and aggregate farm incomes in 2008 continued to improve with progress on milk and livestock prices - additionally the farming sector tends to gain from a depreciating sterling and is arguably much better placed to face the recessionary influences than most other sectors.  

Article Posted Date: Wednesday, January 07, 2009

New Chairman of the AEA Outdoor Power Equipment Council 

Gary King of Bosch Lawn and Garden Ltd has been nominated as Chairman of the OPE Council of the Agricultural Engineers Association and chaired his first meeting last week.  He comments "The outdoor power equipment industry is facing some interesting and challenging issues on differing power sources, and conformity standards on for example noise and I hope that we as a representative body can effecively tackle these".

Article Posted Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008

New Chairman of the AEA Farm Equipment Council 

Richard Johnson of John Deere has been nominated Chairman of the Farm Equipment Council and chaired his first meeting on 16th July 2008.

The Council has recently recruited a number of additional senior representatives of major agricultural equipment companies and all look forward to pursuing industry goals together.  The FEC also hosted on 16th July a seminar addressed by Andersons, the farm consultants, to debate the prospects for UK farming, our customer base.

Richard is Managing Director of John Deere Limited with responsibility for directing the activities of the UK and Ireland branch, including both the agricultural and commercial and consumer equipment (C&CE) divisions.  He has held this position since January 2006 after holding a number of senior positions with the company both in the UK and overseas.

Article Posted Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Princess Royal opens AEA offices 

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal officially opened the new AEA offices in Hampton, Peterborough on Wednesday 25 June 2008.

A wide selection of equipment from both the agricultural and outdoor power sectors was assembled outside the building to allow inspection by her Royal Highness demonstrating the width of equipment on offer from a major industry

Article Posted Date: Thursday, June 26, 2008