When Clare-based Garvey Agri Services is called in to do a job, the best possible results are guaranteed. The utmost attention is paid to ensuring that all tasks are completed to the highest possible standard by experienced and thorough personnel manning the best equipment that money can buy. We caught up with conscientious contractor Tom Garvey at his Ennis base to find out more about this highly-regarded operation.
Offering a complete range of services including slurry spreading, reseeding, silage and general haulage, Ennis-base Garvey Agri Services has been providing stellar contracting solutions to customers in County Clare – and beyond – for more than a decade. Looking back on the formation of his business, Tom Garvey, who was reared on the family farm, reflects:
“I started doing the contracting ten years ago, in March, 2005. I had worked previously for Oliver Taaffe in Tubber and then spent a few months in New Zealand. When I came back to Ireland, I started working for a few lads and built the business up from there.
“I bought a new Massey Ferguson 6480 and started mowing for bales and drawing silage. I would have had use for the Massey at home on the family farm anyway, but it also enabled me to go out and provide those services to others in the area. We have a family farm here going back many generations; I was brought up on the farm and that’s what I’ve always been interested in.”
Today, Tom combines farming and contracting, putting an excellent and wonderfully-maintained fleet of tractors and machinery to optimal use. “At the moment, I’d have 35 cows myself and I would hope to gradually increase that number,” he notes. “My father, Tom Snr., has a much larger farm with suckler and beef cows and we work side by side in farming. He does the herding himself during the summer and then we come in and help out.”
Fleet-wise, Garvey Agri Services boasts some of the nicest-looking and best-performing tractors in the region. Nothing flash about them, but you’d know by looking at them that they mean business! “I own three myself – two Masseys and a new Claas Axion 830 – and also hire in another three.
“For the silage, I have another company set up specifically – Precision Harvesting Ltd. – in conjunction with a partner, Pat Hehir.”
Contracting services provided by Garvey Agri Services, meanwhile, include slurry, fertiliser spreading, reseeding, mowing for bales and dumper / digger work. A bit of everything!
In terms of catchment area, services are offered across the Banner County and also into neighbouring Galway and Limerick.
Considering that he started up the contracting from scratch just ten years ago, Tom Gavery has made quite an impact in a comparatively short space of time. “I’ve always had a passion for machinery and for farm work,” he confirms. “When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, I suppose the service is going to be that little bit better.
“I built up my customer base through word of mouth by providing a professional service and by doing a good job – on time and as described – at a competitive price. When you give customers the service they are looking for and do it well at a fair price, then you won’t go too far wrong.
“In 2008, I bought an Abbey 3,000 gallon tanker and that opened up a lot of doors for me. I’ve got a good bit of work out of that and also purchased a power harrow and ventured into reseeding in a big way. We do a good bit of that every year as well.”
Like all other contractors, Tom is striving against the odds to increase his efficiencies in order to turn a modest profit. With low rates and high overheads, it’s a constant struggle, but he’s winning the battle: “We are becoming more efficient in that last year we covered more acres in silage while the wages were well back. With the combination of better drivers, machinery and weather, we got a much better output.
“Everything has to be more efficient these days. That’s the way this business has gone. Diesel, wages and maintenance / repairs are the three biggest costs that you have to curb if you are going to have a few pounds in your pocket at the end of the month, because rates aren’t going to go up for the foreseeable future.
“The Claas tractor, which I bought brand new last June, is the most efficient in the fleet, while we also keep our overheads down by hiring some very good tractors from Breen’s Farm Machinery.
“Managing cash flow is the main thing, especially with the outlay on diesel during the summer. You have 30 days to settle with your fuel supplier and when you have a month with a high diesel bill, it’s difficult to keep cash in the business.
“What contractors really need to do now going forward is to come together and hold the rate. If rates drop any lower, we are all in big trouble. We know we are worth the money. I have a considerable customer base now, between big and small, and I know that when they see the quality of work that we do and the service we provide, they are more than happy. But the rate has to be held.”
Looking to the future, Tom believes there could be opportunities for Garvey Agri Services to grow further: “I can see more growth,” he concludes. “We will improve the machinery every year and continue to provide a good service and to keep the customers happy. I might add another power harrow to the fleet because the demand seems to be there.
“One thing about us is that when we say we will be there, then we will be there. And lads will remember that. When you provide a good service, your customers have peace of mind and they appreciate that.”
Garvey Agri Services
Ballyortla,
Ennis,
County Clare.
Tel: 086 8850068
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 4, May 2015
