Peterborough is once again the venue for an event that consistently attracts the cream of international manufacturers and suppliers of farm machinery, equipment and agricultural services, and the mainly UK based farmers, contractors and rural businesses looking to invest in new equipment.

Last year saw more than 40,000 visitors descend on the East of England Showground, and more than 850 companies exhibit. The event represents the perfect opportunity for farmers and manufacturers to discuss the latest products on display in an informal atmosphere, view the latest technological innovations, and ultimately, to make deals.

Besides the leading manufacturers of tractors, combines, and cultivation equipment, LAMMA also caters for the smaller, and often more innovative end of the industry, from it’s Workshop Area, where visitors can find fixes and repairs for their existing products, to the Dealers Den, where second hand materials change hands.

Health and Safety, knowledge exchange, and training and development also play a leading role at an event that Elisabeth Monk-Eidem, Head of Events at LAMMA’s parent company Briefing Media, says will attract “a significant amount of business”, where “key decision makers across agriculture gear up for the future”.

This year, the Department of International Trade has announced that it will be bringing a delegation representing Sub-Saharan Africa, with organisations from Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia keen to network with UK businesses looking to do business in their region. The DIT will run sessions to help educate attendees about opportunities in machinery, grain, and wider agriculture, and will be accompanied by UK Export Finance, who will provide advice on accessing export finance and support in these markets.

Quite simply, for farmers and anybody involved in the UK’s agriculture sector, it doesn’t get any bigger than LAMMA, and appropriately, some of the machinery on display is of the plus-sized variety too, if this guide to some of the new machinery that will be on show testifies.

From loaders to handlers, to sprayers and spreaders, it’s enough to get agrarians’ pulses racing, and if you are heading to Peterborough thinking of making a purchase or two, then you it may well be to your advantage to check out the latest rates for sending money abroad; by picking the right broker or money transfer agency, purchasers can easily save 5 figure sums; making it all-the-more worthwhile when that deal for the latest combine gets over the line.

This will also be the last time attendees will be able to enjoy the familiar countryside surroundings of rural Peterborough – the event is scheduled to move to the NEC, Birmingham from next year. Better facilities perhaps, but less space to park the tractor.