FRS’s Carlow office and agri supplies store opened its doors for trading in July 2018 and manager Noel James outlines the significant progress that has been made since then and the highly regarded products and services they provide to the local farming community.
Located on the same site as Carlow Mart, Carlow is a sub-office of the KCDFRS (Kilkenny & Carlow District Farm Relief Services) head office in Cillin Hill, Kilkenny.
KCDFRS is one of five district divisions of the FRS Network which since 1980 has provided a wide range of services to over 20,000 farmers nationwide, including relief milking, scanning, hoof care, fencing, general farm work, freeze branding and even sludge removal and waste plastic collection.
These services are provided to support farmers in the efficient running of their farming enterprise.
“Recently, we have developed two new yards at our premises,” replied Noel James when asked: how the business has evolved since its inception.
“We’ve seen a great demand for livestock handling equipment i.e. extendable gates, cubicles, feed barriers and the like. We are focusing on that at the moment along with the fencing materials.
“What we have noticed now is that people are looking for labour saving devices and time saving devices, good ways of feeding stock and good ways of handling stock. That’s what led us to develop this new yard, primarily made up of Condon Engineering products.
“This past winter has really been the first year that we focused on that end of things and we could not keep up with the demand for it which is why we have built a second yard specifically for Condon products.”
County Louth headquartered Condon Engineering is renowned for designing products to assist farmers with comfortably housing and properly caring for their animals.
They offer a vast product range, which includes cubicles, feed barriers, gates, handling, matting, drinkers, meal bins and feeders, to name but a few, and have been providing innovative solutions for almost 30 years.
“Condon’s products are extremely popular because they are well renowned for being a strong, robust, long-lasting item that will withstand the hardship of big dairy cattle, or bulls,” Noel pointed out.
“They are an all-rounder and, in fairness, when you look at the pricing structures of timber, metal barriers have not gone as much out of proportion as what you would expect. That could all change but they are a brilliant product and there has never been a Condon product that we have heard of people being disappointed with.”
In addition to Condon’s products, FRS Carlow stock hardware & equipment, gates & accessories, farm safety equipment, fencing supplies, fencers and animal care supplies.
“What we are trying to do is become a one stop shop as much as possible,” Noel revealed.
“Our customers are primarily based in our surrounding area, the likes of Castlecomer, Killeshin, Athy, Myshall, Fenagh, Ballon, Benekerry, pretty much all around us.
“Dairy, of course, is the big buzz at the moment. Dairy farmers are probably the best spenders but prices have generally improved for all sectors. Now sheep are exceptional, for example, and this year, for the first time, we have noticed that the sheep man is spending well.
“He’s buying better handling equipment for sheep – he’s actually spending on sheep which he had never done before. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats and while dairy is head and shoulders above all other sectors as regards spend, the beef man and the sheep man has spent better this year than he has done for a number of years before.
“As a result, our turnover has increased significantly, we have got a good foothold now in the area and, going forward, we aim to be the number one stop for all fencing and handling equipment. We are not here to be second choice which is why we are pushing ourselves up to the top all of the time with a better range of products.”
With a wealth of experience and expertise in agriculture, Noel and his team have extensive knowledge of what farmers want and need. They also understand that time is precious for farmers.
“It’s very important that the product is sitting in the yard when the farmer comes in because he is not going to wait that month and a half for it to be made. It has to be sitting in the yard so the only way to do that is to a, have room to have it and b, to keep the yard refilled when stock is getting low. That’s the learning curve we have been on.”
Noel also revealed that demand for KCDFR’s Farm Relief Services, such as milking relief, general farm labourers and specialist services, is also very high.
“We are inundated with farmers looking for our services. We have 40 operators in the Carlow area and Kilkenny would have a lot more, they could have about 120. There’s a continuous need for it because the dairy farms have gotten bigger and there are more hands needed.
“A lot of dairy men too would like, for example, a Saturday evening off, they don’t want to be stuck there seven days of the week. Everyone wants some time whether it’s to look at a match or go somewhere for an hour.”
Turning his thoughts to the future, Noel is optimistic that the Carlow agri supplies store’s trajectory will continue on an upward curve in the years ahead.
“Our immediate plans for further expansion is to finalise this second yard that we have put into place, keep a much bigger range of Condon livestock handling equipment, improve our range in the fencing materials as well so we can also, not only tap into agriculture, but tap into the residential area of fencing as well.
“We are also a licensed merchant for animal drugs which is a very good seller for us and we also carry a range of timber houses that we sell as well from ShedWorld on a commission basis. We want to get as many products that bring in as many diverse people into the yard, not just farmers, but urban based people as well.
“Overall, 2021 was a very good year trading wise. As I said, prices were up so lads had a little bit more spending power. It augurs well for the future.”
KCDFRS Carlow Office
Killeshin Road
Carlow
R93 VOR1
Telephone: 059 9152444
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kcdfrs.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 10 No 3, May/June 2022
