It takes a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication to run a successful agricultural contracting business. Thurles-based Paddy Ryan of Paddy Jerry Ltd Agricultural Contractors revealed to Irish Tractor & Agri magazine how they have established a reputation which is second to none.
Artificial Christmas trees are all well and good but you can’t beat the scent of a real Christmas tree in a house.
The smell of a Christmas tree in the house was the number one reason why the majority of Irish consumers bought a real tree, while tradition and the experience of picking out the tree also rates highly.
550,000 Christmas trees were harvested and up to 350,000 trees were sold throughout Ireland before Christmas day. A further 200,000 trees were exported to European markets, such as the UK, Germany and France.
The most popular Christmas trees are the Nordmann Fir and Noble Fir and the total value of the Christmas tree industry to the Irish economy is estimated to be €21m.
Growing conditions were good last year so it was a very good crop for 2015.
Forest Fresh specialise in growing top quality Noble Fir and Nordmann Fir Christmas Trees in a variety of sizes and grades to satisfy all market requirements. They are directly responsible for growing, marketing and selling all of our trees thus ensuring complete customer satisfaction.
And they employ the reliable services of Tipperary-based agricultural contractor Paddy Ryan of Paddy Jerry Ltd.
At the time of talking to Irish Tractor & Agri magazine, he and his 15 employees were “flat out” harvesting 30,000 Christmas trees.
“We harvested 20,000 trees for Forest Fresh and 10,000 for Coillte,” Paddy revealed.
Established in 1986, the continued success of Paddy Jerry Ltd Agricultural Contractors has been built on providing a trustworthy and professional service.
Very much a family affair, they provide the full range of agricultural contracting services and Paddy is assisted in the day-to-day running of the business by his wife Maura, brother Jimmy, daughters Samantha and Aisling and son John.
They pride themselves in taking the time to ensure that the end result is high quality forage for their clients and they will celebrate reaching the milestone of 30 years in business in 2016.
The strength of the relationships that the Ryan family has built with their customers over the past three decades is a key ingredient of their successful formula. Paddy is approachable and ensures his customers receive personal attention regularly and, as a result, they boast a loyal customer base which is also testimony to the quality of their work.
Renowned for their diligence and reliability, no job is too big or small.
“We have 30 years of experience in the agricultural industry and carry out a wide range of agricultural services, including silage, slurry, reseeding and fencing to name but a few.
“Thankfully, we were kept very busy throughout 2015 because it was a good year weather wise. We cover a 15 mile radius around the Thurles area and we’ve many loyal customers who have been with us for the last 30 years.”
Paddy developed the business from modest beginnings and gradually built up an extensive fleet which today consists of eight Valtra tractors as well as associated machinery.
“The most expensive piece of equipment we have is a Claas Forage harvester,” he revealed, “we do a lot of work on difficult terrain.”
On a negative note, he added: “Machinery repair costs are massive nowadays and that makes things very hard. I certainly wouldn’t like to be starting out again.
“Another complaint I’d have is that it’s very difficult to employ anybody on a short term basis at the minute. There’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be done, transferring tax credits and so on. We’re harvesting Christmas trees and by the time you get employees registered you have to let them go again. It’s ridiculous and there should be some concession there because Christmas Day won’t wait for us.
“Overall, though, we’d be happy with how things are going at the minute. Thankfully, the price of diesel has come down because it was a lot more difficult a few years ago when diesel peaked.”
By using Paddy Jerry Ltd Agricultural Contractors, farmers free up more time to concentrate on their livestock and eliminate the need to invest large sums of money in equipment that they may only need a few times in a year.
Paddy & Co appreciate the fact that their customers have very demanding work schedules and that working with weather cycles can be difficult. Therefore, when you call Paddy he gets to work immediately scheduling specific machines with experienced operators and delivering them on time.
If you require quality agricultural services in the Thurles region then contact Paddy today.
Paddy Jerry Ltd
Shervy, Upperchurch, Thurles
Co. Tipperary
Tel: (0504) 60618
Mobile: 086 2683508
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 3, March 2016
