Charles R Wynne Ltd. is an industry-leading agriculture merchant headquartered in Moone, County Kildare with a second branch in Tullow, County Carlow. We interrupted Sales Manager Larry Kealy’s busy schedule to find out more about the full-circle cycle of high-quality products and services offered to farmers.
Highly respected within the farming community, Charles R Wynne Ltd. is an innovative agribusiness focused on providing performance-enhancing feed, seed and tillage solutions. Synonymous with producing nutritionally-superior feeds, CR Wynne manufactures high-energy rations with a high cereal inclusion and also offers a full range of grass and tillage seeds as well as fertilisers and chemicals for tillage and grassland. Not to mention expert agronomy and nutrition advice.
Since its genesis in 1978, the professional and highly knowledgeable team at CR Wynne has invariably put the farmer, his their animals and his their crops first and this is why they benefit from a large volume of repeat business from farmers involved in all sectors, be it beef, dairy, pigs, sheep, equine or tillage.
One of the real beauties of the Charles R Wynne business model is that they offer a complete cycle of products and services, providing tillage farmers with seeds and fertilisers to grow their crops, which can then be used as ingredients for their bespoke toasted, flaked feeds.
All rations are scientifically formulated to maximise growth rate through palatability and high intake. The toasting and flaking process of cereals and proteins leads to increased daily live weight gain in beef cattle and sheep and higher milk yields in dairy cows.
Typically, cereals (barley, wheat, maize, oats, beans and peas) are supplied to CR Wynne by tillage farmers from within a 30-40-mile radius of the company’s well-appointed facilities in South Kildare and Carlow and the feeds are sold to dairy and beef farmers from an extended geographic belt predominantly outside this catchment.
“The cereal is sourced locally, while the feed is mostly delivered across the midlands and up into the West of Ireland,” notes Larry. “We produce a full range of feeds for livestock farmers. Our biggest market would be beef but we also do a lot of feeds for calves, dairy, sheep and a proportion for horses as well.
“We are in a large hinterland for cereal production, with both plants surrounded by rich tillage land. We supply the tillage farmers who grow the cereal with seed and fertiliser and we also have two agronomists working for us, who can provide them with invaluable advice.”
These experienced agronomists are IASIS qualified and participate in a programme of Continuous Professional Education. CR Wynne can provide a comprehensive crop walking and technical service for cereals, grass, OSR, peas, beans, maize, beet, etc. and all crop recommendations comply with cross compliance legislation and best use guidelines.
When producing coarse rations for retail, grain of the highest quality is of paramount importance. Only locally sourced, high bushel-weight grain is purchased for use in the manufacturing facility, for re-trading to other manufacturers in the industry or for the supply of whole grains to pig facilities. As well as being of the highest quality, all grain is produced by farmers who are IGAS approved.
Charles R Wynne pride themselves on quality manufacturing of animal feeds for the ruminant sector. This is typified by continual investment in their modern toasting and flaking facility, where all their locally-purchased cereals are processed.
“We have a niche product with regards to the feed we sell and customers are very happy with this, resulting in a lot of repeat business,” Larry continues. “In the cooking plant, the cereals are cooked at a very high pressure, which alters the starch molecule in the grain and makes it easier for the animal to access the starch, which means you have a higher-performance feed.”
Charles R Wynne Ltd. embrace modern technology across all their processes and are fully-certified and compliant with all industry standards of quality and sustainability. “We are fully ISO and UFAS accredited and all our cereal growers are members of the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme,” Larry confirms. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and upgrade the plants, to make our practices more efficient and to continue processing a very high-performance feed.”
At present, full-time employment is generated for an exceptional team of 38, whose contribution to the continued success of the business is immeasurable. This includes six Technical Specialists providing support to farmers, twelve in the office and the remainder working in the manufacturing process in Belan. Tullow, meanwhile, accommodates all grain intake and storage.
“We supply farmers with all the raw materials they need to grow their cereals, including tillage seeds, fertiliser, chemicals, grass seed and herbicides,” Larry adds. “As it’s in our interest that they produce quality grains, we make sure to give them the best products and advice available.”
Twenty-twenty-two was Charles R Wynne’s 45th year in business and it was an interesting, challenging but ultimately successful and rewarding one. “We had particularly low rainfall in this region,” Larry comments. “It was a year which started out with the unfortunate War in the Ukraine leading to record prices being paid for Raw Materials and Inputs. Then to compound the problem later in the year we encountered a prolonged drought across much of our supply area. The grassland here was mostly burned up for a long period of 5-6 weeks and stock had to be supplemented with forage and/or meal. It took a good while for growth rates to recover and it’s obviously late in the year, which means growth rates won’t recover so animals will most likely have to be supplemented all the way through now.
“The drought hadn’t as big an effect on cereals because they had already laid a good foundation in the Spring so we had an exceptional year this year both from a yield perspective and the conditions in which farmers could harvest their crops in a timely and efficient manner. Wunter Wheat did very well and so also did spring barley and Oilseed Rape. Winter barley started poor but improved as the harvest went on. All in all, there was plenty of high-quality native grain, which we always welcome. Considering the unprecedented prices for inputs we had to become accustomed to in the Spring, it was relief all round that both yields and prices returned a decent margin for cereal growers”
Charles R Wynne Ltd.,
Belan,
Moone,
Athy,
County.Kildare
Tel: 059 8624106
Email: [email protected]
Web: crwynne.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 11 No 1, January/February 2023
