Figures released by the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) indicate that a total of 39 new forage harvesters had been registered in the republic of Ireland by the end of June.

As is usually the case, the year got off to a slow but steady start, with just two machines registered during January followed by one in February.

Pace then started to gather, with six new registrations in March and 12 in April. May saw the highest number of new foragers registered, with 18 machines receiving number plates just in time for first cut. Interestingly, June experienced no new forager registrations.

This leaves the figures for the first six months of the year up 18.18% on the 33 units registered for the full 12 months during 2020.

Despite still being faced with the ongoing challenges and effects of COVID-19, new forager registrations for the first six months of 2021 are up on every year since 2012 with the exception of 2019, when a record of 60 new units were registered over the 12-month period.

The county that had the highest number of new registrations was Cork, with a total of 10 new machines registered during the first six months of the year.

This was followed by Tipperary with seven new registrations and Kilkenny in third position with six new machines registered.

Meanwhile, a total of six used forage harvesters were registered during this six-month period of 2021.

A total of eight new self-propelled mowers were registered between January and June end, alongside five used self-propelled mowers.