Research on development of tractor fleet in Latvia

The article contains an analysis of the research results on the development of the tractor fleet in the country during 2014-2023. The age structure and technical condition of the tractor fleet has been clarified. More than 100 thousand tractors have been registered in the country of which 32.2% are in technical order, 71% of tractors are older than 30 years, only 10.8% belong to the age group up to 15 years, which is usually taken as the amortization period. The existing tractor equipment registration procedure does not give an objective picture of the technical condition of the tractor fleet and the energy supply for agriculture. During the period an average of 462 new tractors with a power exceeding 74.5 kW were purchased annually. Using the available register data on tractor capacity and the year of registration, the total capacity of the tractor park was calculated by year. In order to ensure the amortization of tractors that have been working for 15 years, the calculated capacity is reduced by 15% but is increased by 10%, which roughly corresponds to the area cultivated by tractors that are more than 15 years old. The calculated total capacity is compared with the sown area during the period. It has been established that the total capacity of the tractor park increases by 35%, and the sown area by 13%, so the increase in capacity is significantly greater than the increase in the sown area, which allows to accomplish operations in shorter agrotechnical terms. During the period the specific power also increased by 20% (3.0-3.6 kW·ha-1), which is consider by several authors as a criterion for evaluation of the adequacy of tractors. Since the rate of growth of the cultivated areas will decrease in the future, the issue of the amount of subsidies for the purchase of new tractors is debatable.