Massey Ferguson is set to make a reappearance at the National Ploughing Championships, exhibiting at the 2025 event as a manufacturer rather than relying on dealers to carry the flag.

This marks a reversal of the noticeable decline in recent years in the number of stands from which a visitor to the Ploughing could buy a tractor.

With Irish farmers now in a tractor-buying mood, this would appear to be a smart move by the company, and it has sensibly not overcrowded its area, leaving room for visitors to appreciate the machinery.

New Holland are another manufacturer with a stronger presence at this year's show, with M&S Machinery of Cashel featuring several tractors on its stand, where last year it was focussed mainly on loaders.

All loader manufacturers are seeing a slow turn towards dedicated machines for handling materials, rather than it being just another job for the yard tractor.

Kubota is one of those loader manufacturers, and it continues to be a stalwart of the show.

This year has its usual assortment of tractors and small plant. Also prominent is its R090 pivot steer loader, highlighting materials handling as a subject in its own right.

Merlo and Manitou are also putting in a strong appearance, both promoting telehandlers as the answer to the need to move loads around the farm.

Merlo are strong in promoting the range of machines it has available, while at the 2025 show, Manitou is highlighting its Smart Weighing System, which can record weights irrespective of the boom position.

The market for slurry tankers and ground level application booms is reported to have abated somewhat, as the national tanker fleet has been significantly upgraded over the past few years.

The attention now appears to be switching to slurry separation as a way of increasing storage capacity, and both Slurry Quip and Mastek have their latest machines entered into the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Awards.

Redrock are also moving on and now have a road tanker of their own to transport slurry from the farm to the spreading point in a more timely manner, although it is being shown on the Clarke Machinery stand, which also has a number of Valtras up for sale.

Also in the the innovation arena was the Hibra electric tractor commissioned by Bord Na Mona for work in the peatlands. It provides up to 55kw of battery power for 2.5 hours.

Although not in the Innovation area, there is also a fully autonomous tractor from iTarra, a company founded by David Doran.

Powered by a 150hp Caterpillar engine, the iTarra company said it enables real-time monitoring, autonomous control, and coordinated fleet operations from anywhere in the world.

Egmont Agriculture of Co. Cork is expanding its range of Polish-built Unia machinery to include chaser bins and trailed spreaders.

The company describes this year as being better than last, but the level of business has still not fully recovered so it is a question consolidation and being ready for the the anticipated return of more buoyant times.

McHale are widely recognised as the leading Irish machinery manufacturer, so the company serves as something of a bellwether for the trade. Its strong backing of the ISOBUS standard will be taken note of by others.

Nugent are another company constantly looking to improve its product range and, while its tractor-drawn TDC trailer is the main attraction, it has on display a good range of stock and general purpose trailers.

With each passing year, Chinese manufacturers increase their presence at the show.

Although there are no manufacturers of medium to large oriental tractors present, there are several catering to the construction industry, where they are gaining some success.

Whether the same happens with agricultural machinery is debatable - they are two completely different markets with farm machinery requiring greater local support, something Chinese tractor-makers presently struggle to provide.

Last but not least, there is always a fine display of classic and vintage machinery.

While it always a satisfying to look back on these older machines with fond memories, they also tell a terrific story of past innovation and the evolution of mechanisation.

Taking time to ponder on just how far the tractor industry has come will reinforces the view that nothing stays fixed in farming and constant development is the key to success.