Agricultural Contractors have benefitted greatly from the evolution of technology, but there is one thing that cannot be surpassed and that is experience.
Being able to know what a customer wants and giving them the service that they require cannot only be achieved through a modern fleet of machinery.
Mayo based Murray Agri have been supplying a top quality service to a large customer base for many decades now and for this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we look at the family run business which is located in Balla.
For the last 64 years, Murray Agri has provided a top quality service to a large customer base as the agricultural contractor built up a reputation for reliability and efficiency.
This family run business not only concentrates on silage harvesting, but other services include slurry, baling, muck and lime spreading and reseeding to name just a few.
The business was initially established by Jimmy Murray in 1952 and many of the customers have been dealing with the Murray family ever since.
These days Jimmy’s sons Fintan and James operate the business which sees them provide a wide range of services as mentioned above.
Fintan and James are not only agricultural contractors as they farm over 200 acres of land concentrating on tillage and beef.
“We are kept busy all the time with farming and contracting. My father first set up the business over 60 years ago and many of the customers we have would be with us many years now,” said Fintan whose three sons Shane, Callum and Darren have been involved in the business, with Callum being fully involved these days.
Fintan admitted that he was taking more of a back seat in the business as the next generation make their mark.
“Callum is basically running the business now. I’m still involved but not as much, but I am there to give him advice when he needs it.
“The younger generation have fresh ideas and you have to give them their chance to improve the business and we’d be happy with the way things are going at the moment.
“Like I said the majority of our customers are there many years and once we keep them happy, then we are happy.”
Fintan admits that the summer months can be very hectic, but stressed that it is something that they are more than prepared for.
“The main aim is to get in and get the job done as quickly as you can. With the weather being so unpredictable, there is only a small window of opportunity to make silage, so it is a case of working 24/7 during that period.
“Fortunately, this year has been great weather wise and it makes life so much easier when you have a bigger window to work through.”
Fintan added that having a top quality fleet and work force enables him to get through large quantities of work at one time. “We have a modern fleet of machinery that which is very up to date and this avoids any unnecessary breakdowns that may occur.”
John Deere tractors are used by the Murray family, while MacHale machinery is also prominent in their fleet.
“For mowing we have a John Deere front end mower as well as a Kneverland 10ft mower. We would use Herron and Ruscon trailers also. The majority of the maintenance work is carried out by ourselves, but some would go back to the dealer.
Drivers have adequate training on a machine before being sent to operate it. The aim is to match an operator’s responsibility with his/her experience.
“All the workers have a lot of experience in operating machinery and I have to say that there is a great crew of seasonal workers here.”
Murray Agri
Lagaturn,
Balla,
Co. Mayo
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 6, July/August 2016
