Since he started cutting hedges as a determined 16-year-old over quarter of a century ago, Stephen Clyde has established an exceptional reputation as one of East Antrim’s leading agricultural contractors. We travelled to his base in Ballyclare to get an insight into the continued success of Clyde Contracts Ltd. and the range of services offered to a host of satisfied customers.
It would be fair to say that Stephen Clyde has known – and understood – agri all his life. Growing up on the family farm in Straid, Ballyclare, he developed a keen interest in machinery from a young age. That was the era of the classic David Browns and Fords and Stephen was taught how to drive by his grandfather.
His father, Tom, represented Northern Ireland on four occasions at the World Ploughing Championships and Stephen himself also competed in match ploughing at national and international levels as a teenager before time restraints caused by his burgeoning hedge cutting and silage activities meant he had to give up competitive ploughing.
In the early days, the Clydes made their own hay and silage on the home farm and, as a schoolboy, Stephen used to help out his father who was doing bales for neighbours as well. He was only 16 when he started cutting hedges, using a Ford 6610 and Bomford Highwayman, which was replaced by a McConnell PA95 Hi-Power and then a McConnell PA550E.
Using a Case 1394 with Kidd double-chop harvester and Ford 7610 with Niemeyer mower, the Antrim man started to cut grass and mow for a neighbour in the 1980s. Almost three decades later, Clyde Contracts is recognised as one of the finest silage, slurry, fertiliser and sowing contractors in the region.
“My dad is 74 now and we are partners in the family business at home,” Stephen says. “I was hedge cutting when I left school and was doing a bit of silage using my dad’s machinery. He used to bale a lot of hay for the neighbours and I got involved in that.
“At one stage in the mid-1990s, I was doing 800 hours of hedge cutting a year but I’m not doing much hedges at all any more. A lot of farmers have bought their own hedge cutters now and they tend to look after that themselves.”
This has left Clyde Contracts free to focus on silage and whole crop harvesting, reseeding, slurry etc. With an outstanding fleet of machinery at his disposal, Stephen offers thoroughly professional, cost-effective and prompt solutions to a legion of customers, many of whom have been on his books for a number of decades.
“For the slurry, we have two umbilical systems made by James O’Kane and Agquip Ltd. in Ballymoney, who give a brilliant service. He looks after you any time, day or night. We also run two 3,500 gallon Herron tankers, an NC Engineering 2,300 gallon tanker, an Agquip trailing shoe and a 2,000 gallon Hi-spec tanker with sludgigator.
“Slurry is a big part of the business now and we also do a good bit of ploughing, using a Horsch one pass drill for sowing – which is one of the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. We purchased that from Sam Moore in Ballymoney and we feel it should be cheaper to run. Horsch are better made and have cheaper spare parts, so it was a good investment. We’d plough a couple of hundred acres a year.”
Stephen had adapted his own fertiliser system which is used to apply fertiliser to spring cereal and operates a 5.8-metre grass seed sower.
Between the home farm and contracting, the Clydes run a total of twelve tractors –a mix of New Holland, John Deere, Fendt and Massey Ferguson. “I have a Fendt 720 coming into its fourth season, which I only use for two specific jobs – the Kuhn butterfly mowers and sowing cereal with the one pass.” Stephen also runs three New Holland T7200s which were bought new last year (with a set of double mowers on one of them), one 7210, one T650 and one TM130, which is on the main umbilical system in the spring and teds grass in the summer.
He uses a JCB telehandler for smaller silos. “I still appreciate the lad with 20-40 acres as much as the bigger customers,” he points out. Other machinery at Clyde Contracts’ disposal includes a Claas 1300T tedder, Claas 3500 four-rotor rake, Claas 2900 30-foot rake and a Claas Jaguar 860 forager with direct disc whole crop cutter, which has been brought in new for this season. There’s also a Volvo L70G loading shovel which is going into its third season and a number of Kane silage trailers.
The Clydes run a 269-acre dairy farm, rearing their own replacements. Employee Johnny looks after the farm, driving a John Deere 6125R. Since 1996, all milk produced has gone to Glanbia. “We’re hoping to put in a new parlour but can’t really afford to spend the money at the moment due to depressed milk prices,” Stephen confides.
In terms of catchment area, Clyde Contracts covers the greater Larne region – within a 15-mile radius for grass silage, but often further afield for maize. “We cut some maize in County Armagh for another contractor who doesn’t have a maize header and have other customers 30 miles from home. For the slurry work, we travel up to 25 miles with the umbilical system.”
It’s now 26 years since Stephen started cutting hedges and doing silage. Things have gone extremely well for him in the meantime, but he is acutely aware of the threat being posed by low milk prices.
“My main concern is how long can farmers stay in business with milk prices the way they are,” he states. “Dairy farmers can’t continue to lose money at this rate. Supermarkets are ripping farmers off. As well as paying low prices, they also take three months’ credit – that has to change. Our parlour at home is 26 years old now but I’m not prepared to invest £200,000 in a new one while the farm isn’t making a profit.
“Agriculture is the core business in this country. Everybody in Northern Ireland is either a farmer or one or two generations down from one. My father, grandfather and great grandfather were all farmers before me. Our family came from Scotland originally in the 1800s and we’ve been farming here ever since. It’s a great tradition and it’s worth protecting.
“Farmers are getting hit from every side. Animal meal is too dear when barley and wheat are also at a low price. Fertilizer is also very expensive – the cost of fertilizer is a rip-off as oil hasn’t been this cheap in years and we were told when oil was dear that was why fertilizer went up in price. Diesel usage also has to be carefully monitored – by farmers and contractors alike – because it is a substantial overhead.”
Despite the difficult times that prevail, Clyde Contracts will continue to provide an unrivalled level of service. At present, they generate gainful employment for two full–time employees in the contracting plus one on the farm. This can rise to seven or eight during peak season.
“I still have customers that I had when I was 16,” Stephen concludes. “I intend to look after them and hold onto them. Things are very tight. I’m getting through but it’s definitely coming in in one hand and out in the other.
“I take pride in my work and can honestly say that I couldn’t do it any better. I like a job done right. I run good equipment and provide a reliable service but unfortunately margins are very tight because the farmer isn’t getting a fair price for his produce.”
Nobody know what the future holds but one thing is certain: Clyde Contracts will continue to offer an exceptional level of agri contracting services to their loyal customer base in East Antrim and beyond.
Clyde Contracts,
Straid,
Ballyclare,
County Antrim.
www.facebook.com/clyde.
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 6, July/August 2016
