McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts have been providing an exceptional contracting service to farmers from their Middletown, Co. Armagh base for the past 40 years.
Specialising in pit silage, whole crop silage, slurry spreading, ploughing, reseeding and shakerating / subsoiling, the business is run by brothers Malachy and Kevin McGuigan along with Malachy’s sons Mark and Padraig. Malachy and Kevin learned their trade from their late father Michael, who was synonymous with ploughing in the area. The McGuigans are also beef farmers who supply about 200 cattle a year to ABP Clones and Liffey Meats in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan.
Committed to providing superior service and complete customer satisfaction, McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts 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. The family business’ longevity and success can be attributed to the knowledge, experience, skill and expertise of its staff as well as the quality of its machinery. The McGuigans and their highly-skilled and highly-motivated team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.
“We’re situated right on the border and have customers on both sides of it. We’re nearly as close to Clontibret in Co. Monaghan as we are to Middletown in Co. Armagh,” Mark McGuigan explains.
“Malachy and Kevin set up the business 40 years ago and it has been going from strength to strength ever since. We have a lot of customers and are always adding new ones. As a family-run business, we provide a personal touch and are always at the end of the phone. We also have a 150-acre beef farm and some corn-acre which Kevin looks after.”
From humble beginnings with just one Case tractor, McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts now run a stunning fleet of 12 Case Pumas, Maxxums and one Magnum. Their local Case dealer is Alexander Mills in Benburb, Co. Tyrone who has been supplying machinery to the farming industry since 1945. The agri contractor’s other main suppliers are Irwin Brothers Tractors in Magheraveely, Co. Fermanagh, SAFE Fuels in Keady, Co. Armagh, DMG Tyres in Middletown and R Kennedy & Co in Ballymena.
“We know Case well and know how to fix them,” says Mark, who is a mechanic by trade.
“We’re able to maintain, service and repair the tractors ourselves with the help of our cousins Declan and Raymond McGuigan, who are also mechanics. Downtime is kept to a minimum. Declan also helps out with the raking and mowing during the silage season. Alexander Mills is close-by for parts if we need them and we’ve bought a few tractors and a rake from Irwin Brothers Tractors as well. Case are a good, reliable machine which rarely give trouble.”
McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts’ grass machinery includes two New Holland forage harvesters (fr780 and fr9080), a Pottinger silage wagon, two JCB TM320S loading shovels, CLAAS butterfly, front and back mowers, two Krone rakes, a CLAAS rake and eight P Donnelly silage trailers.
For slurry, the McGuigans have two SlurryKat 3,500-gallon tankers and three SlurryKat 2,000-gallon tankers. They’re also running three Newrock slurry agitators, a K2 dung spreader and three SlurryKat dribble bars, including two with umbilical systems.
For tillage work, they operate two Kverneland four-furrow reversible ploughs, two Kverneland power harrows, two MDE Machinery 16ft land levellers, an Abbey sower, a Marangon whole crop header and a McConnel shakaerator, which is a high-performance deep-soil conditioner with a proven track record for easing compaction, enhancing drainage and promoting crop and grass growth.
The family-run business cuts about 5,000 acres of pit and whole crop silage every year. Indeed, there is no such thing as a quiet time of the year for the McGuigans who will work around the clock and take on extra staff at busy times to keep clients happy. Reseeding, ploughing and slurry spreading take precedence in the early part of the year, followed by silage cutting during the summer months. After that comes more slurry spreading and shakerating.
“Our busiest time of the year is the summer when we’d have two harvesters and a wagon going flat out. Our customers need us to be there for them, and we are! We pride ourselves on our fast, reliable, clean and value-for-money service,” Mark continues.
“We have built up a large and loyal client-base in Armagh and Monaghan, and we want to keep it that way. 2022 was a good year overall. The early silage crops were very heavy and we just went on from there.”
The McGuigans’ quality work hasn’t been compromised by soaring diesel or machinery costs. Passionate about agri contracting, they would like to take this opportunity to thank their customers and suppliers for their continued support.
Here’s to the next 40 years!
McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts
43 Crossdale Road,
Middletown,
Co. Armagh,
BT60 3UJ.
Telephone: 047 85480 / 086 268 4316 / 083 034 9232
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 11 No 3, May/June 2023
McGuigan Brothers Agri Contracts
