Noel Delaney Agri Services Ltd has been carrying out all types of agricultural contract work since 1975. Based in Kilmanagh, Co. Kilkenny, the company is fronted by Edward Delahunty who is also a grain and dairy farmer, and is chairman of the Kilkenny IFA Grain Committee.
There’s never a dull moment for Edward who is married to Lucy and is father to Conor (12), Olivia (eight) and Eve (four). He joined his late uncle Noel Delaney about 25 years after he set up Noel Delaney Agri Services in 1975 to cater for the needs of local farmers, and has been involved in the business ever since.
“We recently cut 130 acres of silage for brothers Padraig and Billy Brophy in Windgap for the 41st year running. You can’t buy that sort of loyalty,” Edward explains.
“Noel sadly passed away in January 2017 at the age of only 56. He always took great pride in his work and I’ve tried to carry on that tradition. We’ve grown over the past few years to employ five full-time staff. We’ve a good name around Kilkenny and that’s what stands to us.”
Noel Delaney Agri Services provides a wide range of services, including pit and baled silage, corn, maize and beet harvesting, reseeding, ploughing, crop spraying and dung spreading. The agri contractor also supplies fodder and straw to farmers in the area.
“We grow maize, beet, spring barley, winter barley and winter wheat which we supply to local farmers. We rent a good bit of the land. We also supply feed wheat and barley to CR Wynne’s in Moone, Co. Kildare and malted barley to Dalton’s Chancellors Mills in Kilkenny.”
In addition, Edward runs a busy dairy enterprise in nearby Freshford. With the help of his parents Martin and Jenny, he milks 110 British Friesian cows. The milk is supplied to Glanbia in Ballyragget.
Edward 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 success and longevity of Noel Delaney Agri Services can be attributed to the knowledge, skill and experience of its staff as well as the quality of its machinery. Edward and his team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
Edward runs an outstanding fleet of John Deere tractors, including a new R215 and two new 175Ms which were purchased from TFM (Templetuohy Farm Machinery). He also has a 155M, a 155R, a 145R, a 175R, a 6330 and two 6420s. Completing the fleet are two Leyland 272 Synchros, one of which powers a Riecam beet washer.
In terms of grass machinery, the affable agri contractor has a John Deere 9700i forage harvester, which was also supplied by TFM, 2 sets of Krone mowers, a Volvo 110H loader, new JCB 420S loader, which came from Kelly’s of Borris, two Krone rakes, a McHale Fusion round baler and a Goweil Kombi baler wrapper from Cooney Furlong Machinery. He also has four Dooley 24ft and two Dooley 22ft tri-axle silage trailers as well as a single Dooley 20ft tri-axle silage trailer.
For tillage, Edward operates Kverneland and Lemken five-furrow reversible ploughs, an Amazone one-pass drill, two Lemken 6m power harrows and a Rabe disc harrow. Other machinery include a John Deere T550 combine harvester, an Amazone 8200 trailed fertiliser spreader, a Bunning dung spreader and a John Deere 740i trailed sprayer.
All machines are maintained and serviced on a regular basis to avoid downtime, with most of this being carried out in-house. For bigger repairs or machines that are under warranty, Edward calls on the main dealers.
There is no such thing as a quiet time of year for this highly-regarded contracting firm which will work around the clock and take on extra staff at busy times to keep clients happy. In the early part of the year, the focus is on reseeding and dung spreading. Silage takes centre stage during the summer months, followed by corn, maize and beet harvesting.
Elected Kilkenny IFA Grain Committee a few years ago, Edward says the outlook is positive for members in 2022.
“If yields are any way decent, then grain farmers will cover their costs and make a profit this year. I think there is too much negativity out there. The big worry going forward is that grain prices won’t keep pace with the rate of inflation. But we can’t really complain about prices at the moment.”
Edward believes the Government’s €12 million scheme to grow more barley, oats and wheat in the wake of the war in Ukraine is a ‘win-win’ for both farmers and agri contractors.
“It’s a great incentive for beef and dairy farmers especially. Contractors are getting work out of it too. If you have an average yield, you’ll make a quick profit. It’s a short turnaround as well. The scheme will also help boost grain production at a time when the Russian invasion of Ukraine has fuelled concerns about the stability and security of grain imports to Ireland.”
Passionate about growing top-quality grain and agri contracting, Edward would like to take this opportunity to thank his customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as his staff for their hard work, professionalism and dedication.
For all your agri contracting requirements in and around Kilmanagh, look no further than Noel Delaney Agri Services.
Noel Delaney Agri Services Ltd
Kilmanagh,
Co. Kilkenny.
Telephone: 086 2750398
Email: [email protected]
Facebook.com/delaneyagriservices
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 10 No 5, September/October 2022
