Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow has been providing an exceptional contracting service to the local farming community since 1977.
From humble beginnings, the family business has grown into one of the leading agri contracting firms in the Garden County, providing a wide range of services including pit and baled silage; hay, haylage and straw round and big square bales, wrapping and transport; slurry spreading injecting and agitating; dung spreading; lime spreading and supply of same; fertiliser bulk spreading; ploughing; power harrowing; reseeding; hedge cutting; land levelling and rolling; maize sowing under plastic and non-plastic; and reclamation.
Eamon Cullen ran the business for 40 years before passing the baton to his son Brian in 2017 when it became known as Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd. Brian learned the ropes from Eamon during his school holidays growing up and inherited his father’s strong work ethos as well as his commitment to meeting the needs of the farmers that they are proud to carry out work on behalf of.
“We’re not from a farm, so my father had to work extra hard to build the business we have today,” Brian says.
“My grandfather Dinny came from a small farm alright, but he was also from a big family and ended up working for Guinness in Dublin. But he still managed to instil a passion for farming and machinery in my father who in turn instilled it in me. My father’s first tractor was a Ford 5000 which he used with a double chop harvester. Money was so tight in the early days that when he couldn’t afford a plough lamp, he used a light bulb and a biscuit tin instead!
“He worked extremely hard to build a good customer-base and reputation. We pride ourselves on a job well done. Some of the farmers we work for have been with us for 40 years or more. In many cases, it has moved onto the next generation like ourselves.”
Eamon continues to support Brian who is also joined by wife Jennifer, two full-time staff and up to six part-timers at busy times. “We have a great team who have earned the trust and respect of our customers down through the years. Jennifer is a huge help to me. I would go so far as to say I wouldn’t be able to run the business without her. She does everything from collecting parts to looking after all the paperwork,” Brian explains.
“We have three kids – Aidan, who is 14, Kevin, who is 11 and Ellie, who is only four. The two lads love the contracting and are raring to go. It’s in their blood.
“I grew up working in the business, spending every summer in the fields with dad before going full-time after doing my Leaving Cert. I started a mechanic apprenticeship with Timberjack (now John Deere Forestry) in Glenealy, but things got so busy at home that I wasn’t able to finish it. However, I still picked up a lot of experience along the way.”
Committed to providing superior service and complete customer satisfaction, Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd has an array 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 contracting firm’s success can be attributed to the knowledge, experience, skill and expertise of its people as well as the quality of its machinery. Brian and his highly-skilled and highly-motivated team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
Brians runs an all-John Deere tractor fleet consisting of two 7530s, a 6215R, a 150R, a 6155R and a 6830. He recently purchased a quality used CLAAS Jaguar 970 forage harvester and folding OCE fork from Leinster Farm Machines. The 970 replaced a 2011-registered 890. Brian has another 890 as back-up to the new arrival.
His other grass machinery includes JCB 434 and 419 loading shovels;, a second folding OCE fork (the forks are 12ft and 14ft); a set of Krone butterfly mowers; a set of Taarup butterfly mowers; a four-rotor CLAAS rake; a 30ft CLAAS liner rake; a 17.2m Kuhn tedder; two McHale 550 round balers; a Massey Ferguson 187 big square baler; a Tanco wrapper; five Smith silage trailers, four of which are 20ft and the other 18ft; one NC 20ft silage trailer; 36ft bale trailers; and John Deere 731 and 751 front loaders for loading bales.
“We cut about 4,000 acres of pit silage and make 8,000 silage bales a year,” the affable managing director reveals.
For slurry, Brian has an Abbey 4,000-gallon tanker; a Ruscon 3,000-gallon tanker; an Abbey 2,250-gallon tanker; WexOman and Abbey agitators; and a Terragator injection system which is a very popular choice for slurry application. He also runs a 15-tonne Bunning dung spreader.
For tillage work, he has two Kverneland five-furrow reversible ploughs; a Kuhn Accord one-pass; a Vaderstad 4m Rapid sower; a Kverneland 6-row maize drill; Samco 6-row and 4-row maize drills under plastic; an Amazone 6m power harrow; a Kuhn 3m power harrow; and a Kuhn 5m power harrow.
Other machines operated by the family business include Bomford and McConnell hedge cutters; a Kuhn 2.8m mulcher; and two Bredal K85 trailed fertiliser / lime spreaders. With over 40 years’ experience in lime spreading, Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd is an agent for Grolime which is a premium agricultural limestone product manufactured in a number Roadstone quarry locations around Ireland and delivered nationwide. It is a basic requirement for good grassland, boosting the performance of slurry and chemical fertilisers. Grolime is a natural, non-polluting, cost-effective soil conditioner and a sound investment for your farm.
All machines are maintained and serviced on a regular basis to avoid downtime, with most of this being carried out by Brian himself. He enjoys an excellent relationship with his suppliers who include Leinster Farm Machines, TFM, Farm Services Coolgreaney, Donohue Agri, McCarthy Plant & Agri Sales and ECI.
Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd is a member of the Association of Farm Contractors of Ireland (FCI) which was formed in 2012 to give agricultural contractors a voice at Government and EU level. The FCI’s other objectives are to promote good contractor / farmer relationships; to promote the benefits of a good agricultural contracting service; to provide members with knowledge and courses to help them run their business; to promote a good working relationship between contractors.
“One of the big issues in the sector at the moment is the labour shortage. There is no incentive from the Government to keep young contractors in business,” Brian continues.
“There also needs to be more of an effort made to upskill young people in how to operate machinery. It’s something I’d be very passionate about. The roads are narrow, the gear is big and expensive, so they need to know what they’re at. Rising costs are also a huge issue which is affecting contractors and farmers alike.”
When asked what gives his enterprise the edge over the competition, Brian replies: “We are professional at what we do. The fact that we don’t run a farm ourselves allows us to focus fully on the contracting business.
“Farmers call us and they appreciate the fact that we come in and get the job done. Not every job runs smoothly, there can often be breakdowns with gear, old and new, but it doesn’t matter. Knowing how to get yourself going again quickly and finishing the job is key for us.”
He added: “We cover within a 30-mile radius of Rathdrum and continue to attract new customers through word of mouth and recommendations.
“We pride ourselves on good quality work and always getting the job done on time. We’ve been at it a long time and know what we are doing. It’s impossible to keep everyone happy all the time, but knowing that is half the battle as long as you are always trying your best. We treat other people’s jobs as our own and we have a certain standard that we always try to reach when it comes to nice, neat work.”
As Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd approaches 50 years in business, Brian would like to take this opportunity to thank his clients and suppliers for their continued support as well as his team for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
Cullen Farming Contractors Ltd
Hazelbrook,
Ballinacarrig Lower,
Rathdrum,
Co Wicklow.
Telephone: Brian 087- 6464414 / Eamon 087- 7413268
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cullenagri.com
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 12 No 3, September/October 2024
