2026 – part two

Well readers, we are into part two of 2026 already. Where has the first half of the year gone? First-cut silage is done and second-cut is well on the way. Crops in the field are looking healthy between the sun and the showers.
As the tillage farmers’ thoughts now turn to harvest 2026, we wait with anticipation to see what the yields will be like, what demand there will be for straw, and what price grain will make. It will be very interesting to see what price it settles at.
There is calmness in the air as farmers and contractors get on with the business of farming inside the gates. It is a marked contrast from the troubles and protests outside the gates a few short months ago! The sources of those protests have not disappeared – conflict, supply issues, fuel prices, commodity prices – all these situations shake confidence when it comes to making purchasing decisions. Now, in saying that, tractor sales are up year on year, but are back 24 per cent in May 2026 compared to the same period in May 2025. Imported tractors are back slightly year on year, while telehandlers remain the same, year on year. The big-ticket items like self-propelled harvesters still remain strong. There were 41 registered in the first five months of 2026. Putting this into context, only 49 sold in total in 2024. Mowers, balers, grass kit, and tillage kit sales are remarkably good, according to reports from around the country. But there is still an element of caution being exercised when it comes to buying new machinery, for now, anyway.
As I said in last month’s column I am back in the air once again, travelling over and back to Europe. Things are kicking off now in relation to the 2027 Tractor of the Year and first stop on this journey is Naples in Italy. I am preparing my travel itinerary as I pen this column. A big talking point, when the jury panel of 25 journalists meet, will be the state of agriculture in our respective countries. We will be swapping notes and comparing prices and, no doubt, there will be one common thread winding its way through all our conversations and that is, commodity prices and input costs (a definite theme this month). No matter where you farm on a European or worldwide platform – leaving out climate conditions – comparable problems arise.
When I get back, I will fill you in on my international findings on the state of farming in Europe.
Until next month, farm safely, farm wisely.