Specialising in all aspects of agri contracting, T&D Allenwood Agri Ltd has been providing an exceptional service to customers in the Wexford and Wicklow areas for more than 60 years.
Based in Ramsfort Park just outside Gorey, the company is run by father-and-son Tom and David Kinsella, who are joined by two full-time and three part-time staff. Now in his seventies, Tom set up the business after leaving school at 13 and it continues to go from strength to strength, despite the many challenges the sector has faced down the years. The services offered include self-propelled silage, baling, maize and grain harvesting, ploughing, reseeding, crop spraying, lime spreading and slurry spreading.
The Kinsellas run a large tillage and grassland enterprise in tandem with the contracting business. They grow winter oats, spring oats, winter barley, spring barley, winter wheat, maize and rape on their 400-acre holding, 370 of which is rented. All of their produce is supplied to local farmers and grain merchants.
“We sow a lot on contract for farmers and grain merchants such as Tirlán, Cooney Furlong and Gardiner Grain. We also do some grassland for silage,” reveals David, who is a member of the IFA Grain Committee.
“It’s a tough game to be in at the moment due to rising input and production costs. Grain and fertiliser prices have fluctuated greatly over the last 12 months, while land has gone up too. We would much prefer a steady price, especially as we do a lot of forward buying.”
Committed to providing superior service and complete customer satisfaction, T&D Allenwood Agri 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 family business’ longevity and success can be attributed to the knowledge, experience, skill and expertise of its staff as well as the quality of its machinery. Tom, David and their highly-skilled and highly-motivated team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
“Silage is the main service we provide. We work in partnership with my cousin Gary Kinsella of Kinsella Agri when it comes to silage and maize. We cut about 3,000 acres of pit silage and make 10,000 bales a year. Most of our customers do two cuts a year,” David explains.
The Kinsellas run a modern fleet of John Deere and Case tractors, ranging from 2020 to 2022 in years. They have four John Deere’s – two 6155Rs, a 6190R and a 215R – as well as a Case 240. They deal with TFM in Enniscorthy for John Deere and Cooney Furlong Machinery, who are also based in Enniscorthy, for Case.
Their grass machinery consists of CLAAS butterfly mowers, Krone 30ft rakes, four Smyth 24ft 3-axle silage trailers, a McHale Fusion 3 Plus baler and a JCB 419 loading shovel which is used for backing up silage on the pit.
They’re also running three combine harvesters – a CLAAS 580 on tracks, a CLAAS 550 and an older Deutz-Fahr 4075. Other pieces of kit include a Samco 6-row maize drill, a Kverneland five-furrow reversible plough, a Kuhn 5m power harrow, a Vaderstad press, a Sumo eco drill, a Bateman R26 24m sprayer, a Bredal lime spreader and a Mastek umbilical slurry system with 1,600m range.
“We bought the JCB loader and CLAAS mowers from Kelly’s of Borris. The Fusion baler and Kverneland plough came from Farm Services Coolgreany, the CLAAS combine on tracks from Leinster Farm Machinery, while the other two combines and the Bateman sprayer were purchased from Frank Jenkinson in Bagenalstown. We bought the Samco drill direct from Samco Systems,” the affable farm contractor says.
All machines are maintained and serviced on a regular basis to avoid downtime, with most of this being carried out in-house. Machines under warranty are serviced by the main dealer.
T&D Allenwood Agri Ltd has built up a large and loyal client-base in north Wexford and south Wicklow, stretching from Kilmuckridge up as far as Wicklow town.
“We’re lucky to have some great, long-time customers who have stuck with us through thick and thin. We’ll always go the extra mile for them. We pride ourselves on our efficient, reliable and value-for-money service. We get a lot of repeat business which is a sign that our customers are happy with us,” David adds.
There is no such thing as a quiet time for this highly-regarded operation which will work around the clock and take on extra staff at busy times to keep clients happy. Ploughing, sowing and slurry spreading take precedence in the early part of the year, followed by silage and baling during the summer months. After that comes corn and maize harvesting.
“The main thing is to get in and get the job done as quickly as possible. With the weather being so unpredictable, there is often only a small window of opportunity to make silage, so it’s a case of working 24/7 during that period.
“The summer months are obviously the busiest, but we’re kept going all year round. There is always something to be done.”
Still going strong after more than 60 years, T&D Allenwood Agri Ltd would like to take this opportunity to thank its customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as its top-class team for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
T&D Allenwood Agri Ltd
Ramsfort Park
Gorey,
Co. Wexford.
Telephone: 087 268 3330
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 11 No 5, October/November 2023
