For some, farming is second nature. It flows through the veins; it’s part of the DNA. Limerick brothers Alan and Shane Ruttle are two such individuals. Although aged just 32, Alan has already accumulated decades of experience working the land, having started farming when he was a young boy. We travelled to Askeaton in County Limerick to find out more about Ruttle Agricultural Contractors and the family’s successful dairy / cereal enterprise.
The Ruttles from Ballingrane, Askeaton, County Limerick are synonymous with farming and contracting, providing an exceptional contracting service and also overseeing a thriving dairy enterprise on the home farm. Like their father before them, Alan and Shane Ruttle have been immersed in farming all their working lives. Their knowledge is complemented by a true passion for the work and this is patently evident in the solutions provided.
Reflecting on how he first got involved in contracting, Alan notes: “My father, Edward, was contracting back in the 1970s and he gave it up for a few years to concentrate on farming – taking over the family farm from my grandfather – but he got back into the contracting again in the late ‘80s.
“Shane joined him and then I came on board. We have been at it all out lives; I’ve never done anything else. All I know would be machinery and farms – and Shane would be the exact same. I remember when I first started farming I was so young I couldn’t drive yet. For the first four years, I used to have a man driving me around! We have a third brother, Colin, who is also involved in match ploughing.”
Clearly, it’s a family vocation. Everybody plays their part. “On the dairy farm at home, we have 85 cows, which are half and half spring / winter calving. We milk all year around and all the milk goes to Kerry Co-op. We also grow cereal. My mother Marion is also involved in the farm, as is my wife Linda. Everybody chips in and it’s a great team effort.”
With help at home, this frees the boys up to go out and provide one of the finest contracting services in the west! “On the contracting end of it, harvesting would be the main thing,” Alan continues. “We cut a lot of miscanthus [the energy crop, also known as elephant grass, which is synonymous with the Limerick / Cork region], starting in February / March and going right through the year.
“We also do whole crop and maize as well as a lot of slurry and reseeding and a bit of hedge cutting.”
To provide these services, the Ruttles operate a fantastic fleet of machinery, including seven tractors – mainly New Hollands (alongside Case and John Deere). “We got two new 151-reg tractors this year. We hire them for a twelve-month period and then they go back. That arrangement works best for us because you have a quality tractor all the time and you know your costs. And the drivers are happy driving them! We have three hired at the moment and we own the other four.”
Machinery-wise, Ruttle Agricultural Contractors operate a superb fleet of specialist gear including a New Holland FR9080 silage harvester; a Krone Big M; a Komatsu 320 loader; two Deutz Fahr combines; a McHale F550 round baler; three power harrows; a ring roller, grain crimper, trail sprayer; a one pass for sowing grain; a Moore Unidrill for stitching grass seed; a Samco maize drill; dump trailers; seven silage and grain trailers; two vacuum tanks; a dung spreader; and a Hyundai 140 digger (doing land drainage and general farm work).
All the equipment is maintained in immaculate running order at all times, with most of the work carried out in-house. “One of our men, Barry Naughton, is a full-qualified mechanic. He drives in the busy times and he also runs the workshop, doing all our servicing and maintenance. We try to do as much as we can ourselves to keep the costs down,” Alan notes.
The catchment area covered is generally within a 15-40 mile radius. “For grass silage and general run-of-the-mill work, we don’t go any further than 15 miles,” Alan explains. “For maize and elephant grass, we’d go 40 miles and we could also travel up to 40 miles for whole crop and combine work.”
Alan is delighted to be able to rely upon a large number of repeat customers each year. “I’ve been harvesting since ’03 and we still have 99% of the customers my father had. We tend to have the same customers year in, year out. They stick with us, so we stick with them.
“It all comes down to providing as good a service as you can. It’s not easy and I suppose we all have our bad days, but you work hard to keep the whole thing going as best you can. We’re very lucky to have good staff on our books – and good seasonal staff as well – and they play a big role in keeping the wheels turning. We are fortunate too in that we are one of only a few tillage contractors in this region and that’s what we’re renowned for.”
While a combination of bad weather and low milk prices impacted negatively on the agricultural sector as a whole in 2015, the Ruttles remained relatively busy throughout. Alan is hopeful that next year will be at least as busy:
“We’ll stick with our customers and hope that they stick with us,” he concludes. “We’ll keep working hard and try to keep the kit as modern as we can. There are no big changes on the way. We’ll stick to what we know. We’ll probably modernise the equipment again and we’re also planning to gradually expand the dairy herd. After that, it’s all about working hard and providing a good service.”
Two things the Ruttles know all about! There’s plenty more life left in this impressive third-generation family operation!
Ruttle Agricultural Contractors
Askeaton
Co. Limerick
Tel: 087 9188414
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 11, December 2015
Agricultural Contractors, Ruttle
