Tractor sales, the barometer of the health of the farm sector, are down 10 to 15 per cent this year, according to the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association.
Speaking at the NPA Championships yesterday, Mr Michael Devane, president of the association, blamed a combination of a poor harvest and the closure of Middle East live cattle exports, as well as a continuing fallout from the BSE crisis.
Mr Devane said the farmers and the machinery industry were not experiencing the economic boom, and 1997 sales were down on 1996.
"However, machinery sales appear to be buoyant, and the sale of self-propelled harvesters during the spring matched the previous year," he said.
"It is not all doom and gloom. My prediction is that 1997 overall will settle back to a more realistic level and will hold at that for a number of years." Mr Devane said that the number of farm accidents continued to cause the association concern. While there had been some improvement in recent years, it should be an area of "zero tolerance".
"Manufacturers of agricultural machinery have gone to great lengths to improve the safety factor of machines, and members of our association will continue to emphasise safety in our workshops where machinery is only released provided the appropriate safety features have been fitted," he said.
Mr Devane said that one of the problems facing the industry was the shortage of mechanics and fitters. Trained mechanics had a job for life, he said, and he would encourage young people to consider this industry as a potential career.