Some 32% of respondents to a survey of Ploughing exhibitors commissioned by the Irish Farmers Journal said they had seen more business during the event compared with 2015, and a further 11% said they had enjoyed "considerably more". One in three said activity was the same and 23% said they had seen less business.

Those reporting more business attributed it primarily to a general improvement in the economy, followed by a better location of their own stand at the Ploughing.

Among those who reported less business, the most frequently cited reason was poorer weather at the Ploughing this year, followed in equal measures by poorer farm incomes than last year and the change of location from Ratheniska to Tullamore.

Three in four exhibitors said they targeted farmers at the Ploughing, with 40% interested in the general public. Respondents reported buoyant customer sentiment, with half saying the mood among Ploughing-goers was positive and one in three describing it as very positive. Only 4% said it was negative.

Broadmore Research and Consulting conducted the survey on Thursday 22 September on behalf of the Irish Farmers Journal among a representative sample of 164 exhibitors representing one in ten organisations present at the National Ploughing Championships.

Full coverage: Ploughing 2016

Business picking up at Ploughing - Irish Farmers Journal survey

Nearly half of exhibitors surveyed at last week's National Ploughing Championships said they had conducted more business there than last year.