For over half a century, Duffy Agri & Plant has been providing top quality, reliable contracting services to a growing customer-base in the West of Ireland. Based in Balla, Co. Mayo, the second-generation family business’ services include baled silage, slurry spreading, tree surgery, site clearance and drainage.
Duffy Agri & Plant was founded by Joseph Duffy and is now run by his brother Robert and nephews Eoin and Patrick, who are ably assisted by Robert’s wife Anna, Eoin’s wife Alexandra and other full-time staff. The business has grown significantly over the years, especially since diversifying into tree surgery a few years ago.
“The agri contracting and tree surgery businesses go hand-in-hand. My father runs the agri contracting side of the business while I run the tree surgery and site clearance side of things. My brother Patrick greatly assists us both with operating all aspects of the business,” Eoin explains.
“My uncle Joe started out square baling for local farmers over 50 years ago. He was one of the first in the area to offer this service. He then started to cut silage with a single chop trailed harvester before my father joined him and eventually took over after Joe decided to go back to his farming roots.
“My uncle Joe has spent years dedicated to farming, building a strong reputation for his hard work and for producing top-quality purebred Charolais bulls. He is supported in the day-to-day running of the farm by his wife Mary.
“My father started off with two CLAAS round balers and now specialises in baled silage and slurry spreading. We also do drainage, reclamation and site clearance work. That’s where the crossover between the agri contracting and tree surgery work is most pronounced.”
A mechanical engineer by profession, Eoin spent a year in New Zealand and a further year in Australia before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic prompted him to return home and set up the tree surgery business, which specialises in hedge cutting, mulching, tree cutting, wood chipping and site clearance.
“I was always going to come home, but it happened sooner than expected,” the affable 31-year-old recalls.
“I worked in New Zealand for a year with RCL Contracting and then moved to Australia where I worked in sales for PFG (Power Farming Group), who are a leading distributor of farm machinery over there. I had a five-year contract with them, but then Covid hit and I flew back to Ireland two weeks into lockdown. I was very lucky to get back when I did.
“I have no regrets about not staying in Australia longer. It was always the plan to go back to the family contracting business. It’s where I’m happiest.”
Committed to providing a top-class service and complete customer satisfaction, the Duffys have 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 success can be attributed to the knowledge, skill and expertise of their staff as well as the quality of their machinery. Duffy Agri’s highly-skilled team delivers the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
A fresh and immaculate fleet of tractors and machinery is very much at the heart of the operation. There are nine working tractors and one vintage – a 1989-reg Zetor Crystal 16145 Silver Series which Eoin owns and enters into FarmFLiX On the Pull and other local tractor pull events. There are five New Hollands, a T7315, a T6180, a T7260, a T7225 and a T6145 as well as a SAME Iron 150-7, a Deutz-Fahr 5110G, a John Deere 6620 and a Landini Landpower 135.
Duffy Agri’s grass machinery includes a new McHale Fusion 4 baler, a three-year-old McHale F5500 baler, a Kverneland 4332 trailed mower with swather, CLAAS front and side mowers, a McHale R6272 rake and a Keltic bale trailer. The balers are upgraded every four years. For slurry, there are two Abbey 2,250-gallon tankers (one with dribble bar) and a Conor agitator.
The tree surgery business, which is at its busiest during the winter months, is supplemented by a Heizohack HN10500 trailed chipper with crane, a Schliesing 550ZX chipper, a McConnel hedgecutter, a Twose hedgecutter, a 105ft (31.55m) narrow access hoist, an assortment of Stihl chainsaws and cutting equipment along with a pair of 16ft silage trailers that are used for collecting and transporting woodchip.
In addition, the Duffys run two Kobelco 14-tonne diggers, a smaller Hitachi 3.3-tonne digger and two low loaders.
“The Heizohack chipper is powered by the New Holland T7315 while the Schliesing 550ZX is powered by the T6180. The T7225 pulls either of the 16ft trailers. The T7260 pulls the low loader which can transport two diggers at once,” Eoin explains.
All machines are regularly maintained and serviced inhouse to avoid any breakdowns or downtime. “Myself, Patrick and my other brother Barry, who currently lives in London, have learned everything we know about machinery and repairs from our father. We owe him a great deal. He has instilled a love of contracting in us from an early age. His hard work and dedication have always inspired me,” Eoin adds.
The Duffys work long hours and take on extra staff 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.
Whereas most of Duffy Agri’s agri contracting work is close to home, the tree surgery enterprise covers most of Connacht. “We can chip on-site and give our customers whatever they want.”
As Duffy Agri continues to go from strength to strength, the successful family business would like to take this opportunity to thank its customers and suppliers – who include McHale Farm Machinery, O’Brien Tractors, Keane’s Farm Machinery, Ardagh Agri Services, Vincent Salmon at Western Hydraulics and Jacob’s Service Station – for their unwavering support as well as its dedicated team for their hard work and expertise.
Duffy Agri & Plant
Kiltimagh Road,
Balla,
Co. Mayo.
Telephone: 086 201 7054.
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 14 No 2, Summer 2026
