We all attended LAMMA last year and liked the new format, so a return trip was planned for myself and our two hard working tractor drivers Ian and Jay. It’s only about an hour and a half to the NEC in Birmingham, so a leisurely start at 7am was all the time we needed. Sustenance on route is a must for these excursions, which in the past has been an Olympic Breakfast from a Little Chef. With the demise of these bastions of highway refreshment, a new culinary delight has now been found in Harry Ramsden’s Ultimate Breakfast. Many motorway service stations seem to have one. We rocked up at Warwick services having battled our way up the M40 along with all the other dirty farm vehicles, lorries and assorted cars. Farmers are always very easy to spot and we felt quite at home amongst the check shirt brigade as we sat down with our feast.

Parking and entry to the show was really easy as I had pre registered for all of us in advance. Despite some of the major manufactures not attending, there seemed to be plenty of visitors and a good feel to the show as we walked around the stands. The record breaking fastest tractor, as driven by Guy Martin, understandably was a real crowd puller. Kuhn, JCB and Fendt all had some impressive stands and with a good selection of smaller manufacturers too it made for a worthwhile trip. We came home with all the information we needed. If some of the larger manufacturers were not there that was their problem not ours.

I have a planned machinery replacement policy and this type of event is a good source of information for future purchases. Being able to talk directly to the manufacturers and compare similar products in a pleasant environment is really useful. Possessing this information and some retail price indications is a valuable tool when negotiating  with the dealers. Quite what we will  be able afford this year is a different matter altogether.