Bobby Doherty Agri Contracting has been providing an unrivalled service to a large client-base in Co. Donegal for the past 60 years.
Based in Ramelton, which is about eight miles north of Letterkenny, the family-run business specialises in pit and baled silage, umbilical slurry spreading, septic tank cleaning and servicing, reseeding and low loader, dumper and digger work. The Dohertys are also dairy and beef farmers who supply their milk to Aurivo Co-Op in Killygordon and beef to Foyle Meats.
“We farm 250 acres, about half of which is rented,” explains Alastair Doherty, who runs the busy enterprise along with his father Bobby and wife Lorraine.
“We milk 160 Friesian cows and also keep 20-40 replacement heifers and 60 beef cattle. We only started in dairying in 2012 and have gradually built up the herd. The agri contracting business has been going strong for about 60 years. We offer a wide range of services, including septic tank cleaning and servicing which is in demand 12 months of the year. We cut 2,500-3,000 acres of pit silage and make up to 11,000 round bales per year.
“We employ seven full-time staff and take on additional staff at busy times. We work within a 60-mile radius of Ramelton, going as far north as Inishowen and south as Sligo. About 70% of our customers are dairy farmers who we offer whatever advice we can to. Despite having less clients than we used to, we’re busier than ever because the farms are getting bigger.”
Committed to providing a top-class service and complete customer satisfaction, Bobby Doherty Agri Contracting 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. Their longevity and success can be attributed to the knowledge, skill and expertise of their staff as well as the quality of their machinery. Alastair, Bobby and their highly-skilled team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
From humble beginnings when Bobby started out with a Fordson Major tractor and rotavator, the Co. Donegal operator now runs a modern fleet of eight Massey Ferguson tractors (6290, 6465, 6470, 7726, 65165, 7720, 6616 and 7718).
“We had up to 15 tractors in the late 1990s / early 2000s when there were less contractors around. We’ve scaled back since then,” continues Alastair, who was the Teagasc Student of the Year for 2009 after completing his Advanced Certificate in Agriculture course at Teagasc in Letterkenny.
“Donegal Tractors in Letterkenny and D&M Farm Services in Derry are our local Massey dealers. Our newest tractor, the 65165 180hp, came from Donegal Tractors last October and was the first new tractor I ever bought. She has been put to work spreading slurry. Jonathan Stewart from Dunfanaghy takes care of the maintenance and repair jobs we can’t do ourselves.”
As far as grass machinery is concerned, the Dohertys have a CLAAS 870 self-propelled harvester, a Volvo L90 loader, a JCB 414 loader, a Kuhn 3135 round baler and combi wrapper, two sets of Kverneland front and rear-mounted mowers, a Kverneland trailed mower and a John Deere front mower. Slurry has become big business for the Donegal contractor who has invested heavily in state-of-the-art umbilical systems and slurry equipment in recent times.
Currently, the Dohertys are running a 2,000-gallon Abbey tanker with a 9m Agquip dribble bar, two 2,000-gallon RedRock tankers with booms, a 3,500-gallon Hi Spec tanker with pumps and booms, and a 5,000-gallon SlurryKat tanker. There are also two SlurryKat umbilical reelers consisting of 1,000m of five-inch and 2,000m of four-inch hoses respectively, and two Red Rock agitators.
“The slurry season has become our new silage season. From February to October, we’re flat out at it,” Alastair says.
In April 2019, Bobby Doherty Agri Contracting made the news when they sent some of their slurry plant to the Annagry, Belcruit and Loughanure areas of west Donegal to help put out wildfires that had been blazing.
A few other pieces of kit owned by the Dohertys are a Kverneland four-furrow reversible plough, Kverneland and Amazone power harrows, and an Amazone fertiliser spreader.
All machines are regularly maintained and serviced to avoid any breakdowns or downtime. There is no such thing as a quiet time for this agri contractor who will literally work around the clock at peak times to keep their clients happy. They retain long-time customers and attract new ones by providing a professional, reliable, friendly, clean and value-for-money service.
Alastair is full of praise for his staff who work hard and enjoy a great rapport with customers.
“We’re very lucky to have such a good team around us. We’d be nothing without them and I genuinely mean that. They’re the backbone of the whole operation. You can have all the machinery in the world, but if you haven’t got the right men to operate it, you’re at nothing.
“We would always give a young lad a chance because he can often turn out to be your best asset. We don’t rule anyone out.”
Alastair concludes by thanking his customers for their continued support: “If it wasn’t for their loyalty, we wouldn’t be still here after 60 years. They have stuck with us through thick and thin. Our aim at all times is to provide them with the best possible service. We’ll always go the extra mile for them.”
The affable contractor is also grateful to his aforementioned wife Lorraine and daughters Ruby and Mia for their support and understanding.
Bobby Doherty Agri Contracting
Ardslittle,
Ramelton,
Co. Donegal.
Telephone: 086 385 8358
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 13 No 1, Spring 2025
Bobby Doherty Agri Contracting, Featured
