Hennessy Auctioneers of Stradbally, Co. Laois, held its last sale of the year on December18, 2021.

It turned out to have the largest registration of online bidders the company had ever attracted, with 773 potential buyers signing in to bid.

It took just over seven hours to get through the 462 lots on offer with an 88% clearance rate.

Ciaran Hennessy noted that the demand was exceptionally strong for all types of equipment, but it was very evident that contractors, dealers and farmers are seeking cared-for machinery, regardless of age.

As many dealers are reporting, the demand for second-hand tractors this year has been strong as commodity prices are at last giving a fair return and even the smaller farmer can think about investing in machinery.

In this December auction at Portlaoise, 15 out of the 20 tractors entered found a new home, which brought the annual sales total to 100 tractors This represents a 100% increase on 2020.

A doubling of sales underlines the increased activity throughout the tractor market as both dealers and farmers have obviously released tractors for sale that would most probably have been replaced by later models.

Hennessys will be holding its next auction on Saturday, January 22,2022. All prices shown exclude VAT unless otherwise stated