New tractor registrations to the end of February are up 11% in comparison with the same period last year, according to new figures from the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).

The figures show that 485 units (+15%) were registered in January followed by 227 units (+2%) in February, bringing the year-to-date total to 712 units, compared with 643 units in 2022. The three counties with the highest levels of registrations over the first two months were Cork (89 units), Tipperary (61 units) and Wexford (59 units).

The most popular power band moves to the 141 to 160hp category, which for February 2023 accounted for 23.03% of all new tractor registrations. Tractors lower than 100hp accounted for 4.21% of new registrations, while the over 200hp category accounted for 7.72% of registrations.

The FTMTA data shows that 295 imported used tractors were registered in Ireland in February 2023, 37 units more than in February 2022. There were 525 used tractors registered this year in total, compared with 485 units for the first two months of 2022, representing an 8.25% increase.