Farming is very much a family affair and generally it is handed down from generation to generation. Modern day farming techniques are a far cry from what used to go on in years gone by.

From a time when everything was hands on, the machinery available these days allows operators to get through at least ten times as much work on a daily basis.

Agricultural Contractors have benefitted greatly from the evolution of technology, but there is one thing that cannot be surpassed and that is experience.

Being able to know what a customer wants and giving them the service that they require cannot only be achieved through a modern fleet of machinery.

There are many agricultural contractors that have been providing a loyal and efficient service to their customers for many years, but one of the longest in the country has to be Waterford based Michael O’Connell Agricultural Contractor.

When it comes to contracting, Michael has seen it all having first started out in business with his five brothers Noel, Jackie, PJ and Tony in 1965.

From their homestead in Clashmore, the O’Connell brothers started out spreading lime for local farmers. From there, their list of services began to grow on a consistent basis as Michael picks up the story.

“We would have started out spreading lime in Cappagh. At the time, we would have been using the Major 5000 and then we had a Massey 178,” said Michael.

“When we started the silage, we had a five foot harvester, which is a far cry from what is used today, let me tell you. We also did a lot of land reclamation work as well.”

During this time, Michael was helping out with hay on a local farm when he met his future wife Monica and they would go on to raise two sons John and Nicholas and two daughters Helena and Brigid. Helena competed in the National Ploughing Championships for 20 years.

“Monica passed away five years ago and she really was the backbone of the family. John and I now run the contracting business, while Nicholas is at home on the farm in Ardmore.”

These days, the O’Connell’s provide a wide range of services including silage, slurry, harvesting, sowing, tillage and plant hire work.

“We would have a wide range of plant here now. We have four Fendt tractors, one of which is a 1971 614 and that was one of the first Fendt’s released in Ireland.

“We’d deal with Atkins in Cork and Bill Doherty in Dublin when we are buying our Fendts, which are our favourites tractor for many years now.”

As stated, the O’Connell’s also provide a plant hire service which has been going a number of years now and Michael revealed that this end of the business is always busy.

“The plant hire picks up the slack when the contracting would be quiet and we’re always doing bits and pieces. The summer months are generally a hectic time for us, but it eases off after that and we can focus on other areas then.”

Michael and John have one full time employee – Jamie Hurley who has been with them a few years now, but they hire in sub-contractors when needed.

Michael added that John looks after the maintenance, which he stressed is an important aspect given the nature of their business.

“The machinery has to be in perfect working order during the busy period. There is no room for breakdowns or downtime. When a job has to be done, it has to be done as quickly as possible.

“We would upgrade the fleet on a regular basis too. It is important to do that as the new machinery coming out can produce more than the older stuff.

“All our trailers come from Brogan’s in Tullow and we have a good working relationship with them. We also changed the harvester this year and we bought from Eddie Lynn in Suir Garages.”

Having reached their 50th anniversary, Michael O’Connell Agricultural Contractor has certainly being doing something right over the years.

“Many of the customers that we have would be with us for many, many years now. We know what they expect from us and we aim to ensure that they get the level of service expected.

“We are pleased with the direction of the business at the moment and although we have no plans to expand, we would always welcome extra work.”

Michael O’Connell
Agricultural Contractor
Ardmore
Co Waterford.

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 3, April 2015

Agri Contractors, Michael O’Connell