The silage season is upon as many farmers keep their fingers crossed for a dry spell of weather so that they can get their pits filled and covered, ready for the winter feed.
The majority of farmers rely on contractors to come in and get the job done as efficiently and as quickly as possible. The role of the contractor has changed dramatically over the years as technology has seen machinery advance to new levels.
These days a medium sized farm can be ‘wiped out’ in a day or two as contractors operate state of the art machinery. One such contractor in Co Monaghan is Ballybay based Keith Allen Agricultural Contracts who during his 20 years in business has built up a customer base that covers not only his home county but that of Meath, Louth and Cavan also.
Keith hails from a farming background and this allows him to understand the needs of his customers as he provides a wide range of services throughout the year.
“We are 20 years on the go now and the customer base has grown a lot over the years. A lot of our customers would have huge farms and in order for us to get through the workload, we have two outfits going during the silage season,” said Keith whose nephew Stephen has come on board as a business partner in recent times.
To carry out his duties, Keith revealed that they have an extensive fleet of machinery that is upgraded on a regular basis.
“You have to keep up to date with the latest machinery otherwise you will be left behind in this game. We have added a lot of machinery to the fleet this year and last year which includes the purchase of two JCB loaders, a 435S and a 418S, which were bought from ECI in Dublin.
“We have 16 tractors in total, the majority of which are Masseys and Fendts. The Masseys are bought from Martin’s in Bailieborough, Co Cavan, while the Fendts come from Alan Milne’s in Newry Co Down.
“I’ve been dealing with them for 20 years now and they both provide a good service. I would be doing business with them on a regular basis.”
This year alone saw Keith add a new loader, new harvester, three new tractors and two new trailers to the fleet and he acknowledges the fact that there are plenty of overheads in the industry.
“You have to speculate to accumulate in this game. The machinery is a necessity and even though it is very expensive, a lot of it has a good second hand value.”
Keith Allen Agri Contracts is very much a family affair as not only is his nephew Stephen involved, but his brother Jim is too while Keith’s wife Shirley looks after the books. Their 17-year-old son Mark also helps out and Keith is hopeful that one day he could take over the business. Keith’s late brother Samuel was also involved when the business was first established.
Aside from the silage, Keith and his team also work on spreading slurry and to do this, they use the revolutionary new umbilical system which sees pipes run from the tanks out to the land.
“We have four pipe systems in operation and we can get through 35,000 litres of slurry an hour, which far exceeds what we could do the old way.”
Also operated are three maize planters which are kept busy during that period of the year when the crop is sown. Reseeding and ploughing are also other services provided, while digger work is carried out for local farmers as well as some GAA grounds.
“We do a bit of drainage work and some gravel moulding for farmers and at GAA pitches. This helps keep us busy for most of the year, but, of course, the winter months are a bit slacker.”
Keith revealed that they farm 145 acres which is stocked with beef and sheep as the lamb down 350 ewes every year. They also have their own tanker that draws slurry from farms and piggeries, while they also sell meal for Kiernan Milling in Granard.
“I am a sales rep for Kiernan’s and I’ve been doing that for a few years now, which works out very well for us and them.”
Keith added that his employees deserve great credit for the experience and effort they bring to their jobs as he admitted that they really came through for him a few years back.
“I fell ill in 2009 and credit to the workers they kept the business going. Without them none of this would be possible and special thanks must go to Derek Moffett and Ciaran Sherry. I’ll always be grateful for their support.”
On a final note, Keith thanked his customers for their support over the years. “A lot of our customers are with us for many years now and I’d like to thank them for their support. We give a good service and they are accustomed to that, so it is up to us to ensure we continue that for many years to come.”
Keith Allen Agricultural Contractor
Ballybay,
Co Monaghan.
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 8, September 2015
