Jim Farrell Agricultural Contractors have been providing their customers with an excellent service for more than 20 years now, so Irish Tractor & Agri decided it was time to catch up with one of the men behind the Westmeath-based agri outfit.
Success breeds success. The old saying certainly seems to be the case when you take into account what has been going on for the last 20-plus years at Jim Farrell Agricultural Contractors in Moate, Co Westmeath.
For Jim Farrell himself, it has come full circle. The business he first officially started up back in the early 1990s has now saw three of his sons come on board to help out with the day-to-day operations and overall running of the business.
Jim Farrell has been involved in agricultural contracting all of his working life and his sons Tom, Michael and John have all been quick to follow in his footsteps, with another busy summer ahead for all four of them.
Tom is one of the four full-time staff that Jim Farrell Agri Contractors employs all year round and with the summer months fast approaching, he explained that the employee count is set to swell into double figures again soon, with the workload set to increase drastically into September.
It’s something which the Farrells have grown accustom to down through the years and Tom shared with us just exactly what the family outfit are all about.
“We’re based in Moate in Co Westmeath and we’re established for more than 20 years now,” he explained.
“We have four full-time staff working with us, which would include my brother Michael as well. Our father, Jim Farrell, would have founded the company and he’s been in the agricultural industry all of his life.”
Indeed Jim has seen some changes in his time in the industry but the core values of his business have remained the same, with offering a reliable service to his customers always number one on the agenda.
The work carried out at Jim Farrell Agri Contractors sees them kept ticking over for 12 months of the year, with June, July and August almost always the busiest months on the calendar. As Tom explained, the Farrells offer their customers the full package when it comes to agri services – and they carry them out in a reliable and professional manner.
“We spread a lot of slurry, cut silage, make and wrap bales, along with other services which tend to keep us going all year round,” said Tom.
“At the moment, we are very busy with the slurry spreading end of things, which is normal for us this time of year. That’s keeping us busy now and into the summer while we prepare for the silage cutting in the months ahead.”
As aforementioned, the summer is very much where it’s at for Jim Farrell and co and they endeavour to make sure that their customers are satisfied with the service that they provide.
As for the customers themselves, Jim has managed to build up a decent sized clientele list down through the years and a large portion of those would be within a 20-30 mile radius of Moate, where the family was born and bred.
Given the reputation that the family has for getting their work done both quickly and efficiently, it’s no surprise to see that those customers have struck with Jim and his sons through thick and thin when they need a contracting service carried out, whether it be silage, slurry or anything else.
For Tom, offering that kind of service is something which he has grown accustom to after having worked under his father for so many years.
“A lot of our customers would be local. In fact, almost all of them are local and that obviously suits us with the work that we do here,” he said.
So why do they choose Jim Farrell Agri Contractors above other agri outfits?
“I think our customers come to us first because they understand that we are very reliable,” Tom stated. “When we say that we’re going to be somewhere, we’ll be there and I think that’s one of the most important aspects in this business – reliability.
“If you’re not reliable and efficient, the customer will go elsewhere. So therefore you have to be dependable and there for them when they call.”
The company fleet is also a draw for customers and one which Jim has proudly built up through his long-time experience working with all different types of machinery.
It includes eight New Holland tractors along with two John Deeres, A Claas Harvesters, a Volvo loading shovel, four slurry tankers, five trailers, a 30-foot Claas rake, a McHale Baler and a McHale wrapper.
This time of year sees that fleet very much in full flight and if you’re looking to see some of it in operation you can check out videos on YouTube from July of last year which show Jim and his sons cutting silage with a brand new Claas Jaguar 860 Harvester. You can also see they’re New Holland T7 200 Tractor in action on a job in Tober in Co Offaly.
“We could have up to 10 to 12 lads working here for us during the summer when we’re at our busiest,” Tom outlined.
“Between the baling and silage we’d be working long hours in the summer and could be out cutting, baling or wrapping until 3 in the morning. That’s the business and it can often be very weather dependant.”
He added: “If there’s rain or signs of rain of the way, Jim would often try and work right through it to get it cut.”
As for their own land, the Farrells have plenty to keep them going and also rent out a couple of hundred acres along with a couple of hundred cattle, according to Tom.
“We have about 100 suckler cows, which my brother John helps out with, so you could say it’s very much a family effort here,” he concluded.
Great to hear, Tom.
Jim Farrell Agricultural Contractors
Moate,
Co Westmeath
Tel: 087 7434315
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 5, June 2016
