LAMMA: has the sphere of influence been stretched too thin?

Written by Clare Otridge

I’ve attended LAMMA every year for the past five years. I go wearing a few different hats: as a market researcher listening closely to what farmers are thinking, as a woman working in agriculture and noticing where opportunities are opening up (and where they still aren’t), and, if I’m honest, as someone who enjoys the social buzz of big machines, big ideas and familiar faces.

LAMMA has always been a place to take the temperature of the industry. But walking into the NEC this year, I found myself asking a slightly different question than usual: not what’s new?, but what is LAMMA trying to be?

The influencer question

It’s impossible to talk about LAMMA 2026 without acknowledging the role of influencers. Their presence sparked strong and often polarised reactions, which is why I chose to lean into that debate in the title rather than skirt (excuse the pun!) around it.

On one hand, I can see real value. Influencers rarely get to meet the people behind the screens and keyboards who follow them. Having a physical presence at LAMMA gives those relationships a human dimension. For followers, meeting someone they’ve engaged with online for years genuinely matters and it is often the reason so many of the young generation attend - they want to meet their role models.

But I also watched influencers like Olly and Caleb being completely mobbed. It was almost impossible to move, let alone have a proper conversation about what’s actually happening in farming right now. At times, it tipped from connection into something closer to celebrity culture, and that’s where the discomfort crept in for many people.

I do want to argue a point that this agricultural community, while very supportive on the whole, seems to hold issue with anyone being seen to be successful outside their 'box'. what should and should not be included is a fine line to tread - but are Only Fans models and more skinny jeans than a New Look store in 2016 really what we want?

The issue isn’t whether influencers should be there. It’s whether LAMMA has thought clearly enough about why they’re there, and how their presence fits into the wider purpose of the event.

Too big to drift through

LAMMA has now reached a scale where you can’t really just “rock up” anymore and justify the day off, unless your goal is purely social. If you’re there to meet mates, have a wander and look at the kit, that still works. But if you’re there to learn, to think, or to make decisions, the lack of structure becomes more apparent.

I found myself spending more time staring at a map than engaging with what was in front of me. That’s not a criticism of size per se, but of how little support there is to help people attend with intention. There’s a real missed opportunity in pre-event communications to ask a simple question: why are you coming? And then to help people plan around that purpose.

Where thinking happened - quietly

One of the most interesting contrasts for me was how well attended the seminars were, particularly around CropTec and the Low Carbon Ag Show. These areas felt calmer, more focused, and more conducive to proper conversations. There was breathing space. There was knowledge exchange rather than noise.

That matters, because it points to a different kind of farmer audience, not just those looking for the next bit of kit, but those grappling with uncertainty, policy change, and long-term decisions. Those spaces felt slightly peripheral, both physically and symbolically, but they might actually hold the key to LAMMA’s future relevance.

Machinery, spectacle and reality

LAMMA is, at heart, a machinery show. But when machinery becomes spectacle, its meaning shifts. Enormous kit that most people will never buy can be impressive, but it can also feel detached from reality. It’s a bit like teenagers peering through the glass at a Ferrari showroom: aspirational, but ultimately unobtainable.

That disconnect feels more pronounced given the current farming climate. There’s huge uncertainty about policy, markets and the future shape of farming. I noticed a younger demographic this year, and a stronger presence of large contracting businesses. These are commercially savvy operators. They invest in kit that earns its keep. And I’m not convinced all of what was on show aligns with where many businesses are heading in the next few years.

Identity, risk and precedent

What makes this particularly interesting is that LAMMA isn’t afraid of controversy. The move to the NEC went directly against the wishes of many traditional attendees, and yet visitor numbers have continued to grow year on year. That tells us something important: LAMMA is willing to fly in the face of vocal opinion if the data supports it.

The question, then, isn’t whether LAMMA can make unpopular decisions. It’s where the tipping point lies. At what stage does being something to everyone, become dilution? How do you keep the focus on farming itself, rather than drifting into personality, drama and aesthetics?

Where LAMMA gets it right

For all of this critique, it’s important to say where LAMMA genuinely excels. Accessibility is its quiet strength. Yes, people complain about the price of lunch and parking, but culturally, LAMMA feels open. It feels like a place all farmers can attend, regardless of enterprise, scale or confidence.

That’s not true everywhere. The Oxford Farming Conference can feel academic, highbrow and financially out of reach for many farmers - hence ROFC's popularity. Cereals and other sector shows are enterprise-specific, and plenty of farmers don’t feel it’s for them. Country shows are a bit of a holiday feel and not the place for learning necessarily. LAMMA, by contrast, is somewhere most farmers feel they belong, and that inclusivity is not something to be taken lightly.

So, what next?

I don’t have a neat answer for what a “farmer-led reset” looks like, perhaps that’s the point. What I do know, as a researcher, is that moments of polarisation are moments worth paying attention to. They tell us something is shifting.

LAMMA doesn’t need to be smaller. But it may need to be clearer. Clearer about who it’s for, clearer about why different voices are there, and clearer about how farmers can engage with purpose rather than drift. You can still have everyone there, but to maintain the attraction for the people making the decisions, the ones the exhibitors are paying to get in front of turns LAMMA from a brand building event to one of the few opportunities outside the dealerships and offices to get under the skin of the products you want to buy.

If LAMMA can hold onto its openness while sharpening its identity, it has the opportunity not just to grow bigger, but to grow better and with more intention rather than a sprawling mass of halls. That feels like a conversation worth having now, rather than after the bridge has already been crossed.