DJ McKay & Son continues to set the standard in agri contracting after more than 50 years. The third-generation family business is one of the leading farm contractors not just in Co. Antrim, but in all of Northern Ireland.
Committed to delivering a top-class service and complete customer satisfaction, DJ McKay & Son has a wide range of machinery to carry out your work quickly and efficiently, providing you with value-for-money and an alternative to investing in your own expensive equipment. The company’s longevity and success can be attributed to the knowledge, skill and experience of its staff as well as the quality of its machinery. The McKay team delivers the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
The Ballymena-based operation has come a long way since John James McKay started out with a single square baler in 1969 before going on to buy one of the first reverse drive harvesters in Ireland six years later. Since then, the business has grown to provide a complete agri contracting service, from silage and barley cutting, ploughing, sowing and reseeding to slurry and dung spreading, site clearance, hedge-cutting, drainage, dump trailer work and stone crushing.
These days, John James’ son David (John) runs the company along with his sons James and William. The McKay’s have built up an impressive fleet of tractors and machinery to cater for every job. They run nine John Deere tractors, including three 6145Rs which were purchased new from Stephen Moore Farm Machinery in Coleraine last February. They have one other 6145R, with two 6155Ms, a 61130R, a 1130 and a I55R completing the line-up.
“John Deere is the brand we choose because of its reliability and comfort. There is no great difference in prices anymore – all new tractors are close to the same price. But John Deere is worth that the little bit extra that you pay,” James McKay maintains.
Other equipment / machinery operated by DJ McKay & Son include: John Deere 8400 self-propelled forage harvester which cuts silage and wholecrop; Krone Big M self-propelled mower; two McHale Fusion balers; five Herron silage trailers; CLAAS front and side-mounted mowers; Krone TS 320 CV mower; two Agquip umbilical systems with 12-metre dribble bars; CLAAS and Krone rakes; two Herron 3,000-gallon slurry tankers; Herron H2 15-tonne dump trailer; two Herron low loaders (16 and 24 tonne); Volvo L90 loading shovel; Wacker Neuson telehandler; two Hitachi 14-tonne diggers.
Kobelco track machine; two McConnel hedge-cutting machines; Seven multipurpose mulcher which attaches to a digger; Kverneland four-furrow reversible plough; two Lemken three-metre power harrows; new Sulky GPS X40 fertiliser sower; Sulky seed drill; K-TWO dung spreader; mobile stone crusher.
All machines are maintained and upgraded on a regular basis to avoid downtime. “With time being money for the customer, we cannot afford to suffer any breakdowns. We keep our machinery fresh and carry out maintenance ourselves. Stephen Moore Farm Machinery looks after the rest of the maintenance and repairs for us,” James explains.
There is no such thing as a quiet time for this highly-regarded contractor who will work around the clock at busy times and take on extra staff if needs be to keep clients happy. Slurry spreading, ploughing and sowing takes precedence in the early part of the year, followed by pit and baled silage during the summer months. After that comes more slurry spreading, hedge-cutting and even snow clearing.
“Our peak season runs from February right through to October. The slurry spreading starts in the springtime and it’s a very busy period for us.
“We cut silage. We sow and cut barley. We sow grass seeds. We draw dung away from hen houses and spread it on farms. We cut and mulch hedges for Northern Ireland Railways and the RSPCA, and clear snow in the winter for Antrim Borough Council. We also keep our diggers busy by doing site clearance for new houses and farms. Drainage work is another service we offer. We’re always at something.”
No job is too big or small for DJ McKay & Son which generally operates within a 25-mile radius of its Ballymena base. However, its stone-crushing service is sought throughout Northern Ireland. The contractor retains customers and attracts new ones by providing a top-class, reliable, clean and cost-effective service.
“We have some great customers in both the farming and construction sectors who have been loyal to us for the past 40 or 50 years,” James continues.
“You try to do the best you can and keep your customers best as you can. We are always at the end of the phone for them if they’re looking for us. The customer is king. You’ll do whatever it takes to make them happy. If that means working all hours, then so be it.”
DJ McKay & Son featured on the UTV series ‘Rare Breed TV’ a few years ago. The series followed 16 local farming families across an entire year and provided a unique insight into the highs and low farmers experience in one of Northern Ireland’s most important industries. The contractor has also regularly featured in Grassmen videos on YouTube.
To celebrate 50 years in business, DJ McKay & Son brought out a calendar last year which raised £5,500 for MacMillan Cancer Support through sales and sponsorship. This is something the family was obviously very proud of.
DJ McKay & Son would like to take this opportunity to thank its customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as its staff for their dedication, hard work and expertise.
Here’s to the next 50 years!
DJ (David John) McKay & Son
7 McKeestown Lane,
Shankbridge,
Ballymena,
Co. Antrim,
BT42 2LU.
Telephone: 028 25891387 / 077 62901968
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 9 No 1, January/February 2021
