Delivering unrivalled services to customers for three-and-a-half decades and counting, Scally Silage is one of Westmeath’s longest-established and most vastly-experienced agricultural contractors. We touched base with conscientious, meticulous founder / proprietor Paul Scally – who also fronts leading groundworks and steel fabrication company RKC – to find out more about his exceptional, forward-thinking silage operation.
Paul Scally has been silage contracting for long enough to understand the value of running modern machinery to invariably provide efficient, dependable solutions. While Scally Silage has been around since the mid-80s, it is first and foremost a modern and progressive set-up, which has consistently moved with the times to ensure farmers are offered the best services money can buy.
“Machinery manufacturers are investing money in Research & Development for a reason,” the Killucan man points out. “The machinery and farming methods are getting more efficient and better, so people have to embrace that technology and learn how to use it to maximise the benefits.
“There’s so much money going into research that it is being spent for a reason. Newer and better methods of farming are being developed all the time and it’s hard not to listen to these people. It’s worth investing and moving with the times to optimise your return.
“I hear talk about contractors cutting 6,000 acres a year in the North, but the reality is we’d get as much in one cut as they’d get in five. Farmers are thinking ahead and moving with the times. There are farmers around me now cutting three or four times a year. The reality is that it doesn’t really take any longer to do three cuts than two, while it’s also handier and lighter. More farmers are catching on to this.”
Paul runs a stunning, fresh fleet of 15 Claas tractors. The oldest is a 131-reg and he also owns a 141, one 151 and a couple of 161s, the remainder being a combination of 19s, 20s and 21s. Three brand-new tractors were added to the replenished fleet this year. Typically, the tractors are dedicated predominantly to silage during the summer months and groundworks in winter time.
Having started out with two Massey Fergusons (a 135 and a 188) and a New Holland 165s, Paul went through a variety of tractors before settling completely on the Claas brand. “There was a fella who used to do mowing for me and the money wasn’t in it for him so we ended up buying our own mower,” he recalls. “I bought a 650 demo with a Claas mower on it (which, incidentally, didn’t take off at all), but I ended up keeping that tractor and gradually changed the whole fleet over to Claas.”
The Westmeath man believes that while it’s important to run good equipment, it’s equally essential to know how to operate it as intended: “You have to be schooled properly to get the best performance out of the tractors,” he states. “Every knob or button is there for a reason and that reason will generally save you time and money. Garages shouldn’t let them out of their showroom without explaining fully what everything on that tractor can do and what it’s there for.”
All told, between Scally Silage and RKC, there are approximately 120 machines with engines in them kept in the Cloghan Road yard (ensuring an eye-watering monthly diesel bill!), including the aforementioned tractors two Claas 870 Harvesters, a couple of JCB loading shovels and teleporters , 24 diggers, a new bulldozer, eight dump trailers, Claas liner rakes, low loaders, slurry tankers, etc.
“I’m very happy with the Claas tractors, which all came from Leinster Farm Machinery,” Paul confirms. “They have John Deere, Mercedes, Cummins or Ford engines and the comfort comes from Renault. They are comfortable, spacious and offer a great view. They’re driver-friendly and are very user friendly tractors despite the level of technology in them. Five of the trailers are Broughan. We have a good balance of trailers and tend not to go for big ones – the largest we have is 22-foot.
“I bought two sets of butterfly mowers this year. I decided not to go for the Big M as you can take the butterfly mowers off, which frees the tractor up after September. They are more versatile and it’s all about horses for courses.” Around 85% of Scally Silage’s work is within the Westmeath county boundaries, as well as a small bit into neighbouring Meath, specifically in and around Ballivor.
“When we first started cutting silage we used to start in May and go through until October,” Paul reflects. “We started for a man with a tillage operation in Kildalkey, who used to get caught between cutting silage and harvesting. He gave us 150 acres to do and that sowed the seed, so to speak – I got hooked on it!
“There was a lot of rivalry back in those early days and people wouldn’t talk to somebody else with a rival operation, but I never had that problem myself.”
The amount of grass that can comfortably be got through today is worlds apart from what could be achieved in the ‘80s… “My boys did 250 acres there one day between 11:30 in the morning and 6:30 in the evening – it’s a different game now,” says the founder of Scally Silage, who also grows his own maize and corn. “People were delighted years ago if you could come and cut their silage at all. You’d have been lucky to do ten acres a day with a double chop and it was so boring you’d smoke 60 cigarettes. Today, you do a job that quickly you don’t have time to smoke.
“Things are always progressing but at the same time it’s hard to imagine it getting much bigger or faster than where we are today. We have machinery to suit the farms we are going into. You can only get so big, and they don’t want you bulling and rushing. Farmers have designed and built their farms to suit their own needs, so why would we ask them to change anything to suit a few hours’ work? That’s why I have two harvesters, because you can keep two people happy at once and still cut your acres.”
Scally Silage had 2,900 acres cut by July 1st this year, having started on May 15th. “When a fella rings you now, he nearly wants you there as soon as he puts down the phone,” says the owner. “Everyone is farming as they were taught to farm and they have great knowledge of it. A fella who was milking 15 cows is now milking 100 on the same land. Everything has changed.
“Yards have been modernised and there have been huge changes and improvements. If you could take a picture from years ago and compare it to now, it’s like a completely different country, more like Australia. There are people we’ve cut for now for 30+ years and some we’ve been with for three or four years – you’d do something every year for 99% of them. There’s one man we go to who used to milk a big yard with a bucket and he’s still there but has made big leaps forward. The change is phenomenal and the yards today are incredibly well thought-out and put together.”
Paul says manners and respect are important when dealing with farmers. At the end of the day, it doesn’t cost anything to be polite and friendly. “You need to be able to do the job in the first place and that means spending money on good machines and on competent, mannerly lads to run them,” he continues. “The farmer has to be in the same frame of mind and you must have a good relationship with him. You have to be able to have a bit of craic with him as well – otherwise, what’s the point?”
Maintenance of the machinery is of utmost importance and, to this end, Scally Silage (and, indeed, sister company RKC) both benefit from Paul’s own background as a mechanic. He served his time with Lyons & Burton, the New Holland dealership in Kilcock, spending eight years in total there from the age of 14.
“Having a mechanical background has saved me a fortune and I don’t think I’d have managed otherwise,” he concedes. “While I was at Lyons & Burton, I learned something new every day. I would have come across everything and would know how to fix it. That background leaves you better equipped to communicate with manufacturers too.
“You have to keep all the gear in good condition. If you let machinery go bad, then you are losing money straight away as it won’t have the trade-in value. If you have to put a new set of tyres or a clutch into a tractor that money is gone, so it’s better to look after what you have, keep it right. That way, when you bring it back to the dealer, he knows he can turn it around and you can get money off your upgrade without having to fight over it.
“Everything here is in great condition and kept clean and tidy. As well as Leinster Farm Machinery – who give a great service for both the tractors and harvesters – Alan Douglas also does Claas and he gives me a great service. Meath Farm Machinery and Breens are excellent with John Deere. Claas and John Deere agencies aren’t just given out to anybody. Only the best dealerships will get those. Everything is going through computers now and they can find problems quickly; all the technology is really paying off on those tractors.”
Working alongside his brother Oliver, Paul started off cutting silage 35 years ago with a New Holland 339 double-chop harvester and they cut around 150 acres in the first year – which would have been around a month’s work at the time! A new double-chop harvester was added the following year, then a JCB 411 loading shovel. After eight years, an upgrade was made to a precision chop, with a new JF 900 purchased every second year for a while thereafter.
Before converting to Claas, he had changed to Kverneland Taarup 10Xs … “Land wasn’t as good back then and it was hard work. Around about 2005, I traded in two tractors and a 10X for a Claas 860 harvester and I’ve never looked back.
“Silage cutting 30 years ago was extremely hard on families because you were away from home so much. You could be literally away all day and all night, sometimes from 6am until 1am or later. That was incredibly tough on my family. When you are doing this, you have to have the support of a great family behind you. It’s not just about the tractors – it’s a fair commitment for everybody.
“You also need a good team around you. I have great lads with me and everything needs to click. You are trusting these lads with good machinery so they have to be up to the job. There’s nothing simple about silage cutting and people don’t realise how much thought, planning and organising goes into it. It’s like preparing for an All-Ireland and everybody on the squad has to be on board.
“You have to have lads you can trust to operate the machinery and who are motivated, committed and prepared to talk to the farmer and engage with him. The performance of everybody from the manager right down to the last sub is important to deliver the required level of service and quality. The man you are cutting for has €10,000 worth of silage sitting there and he needs that to be in good order – you can’t let him down.”
Between Scally Silage and RKC – which specialises in groundworks and steel fabrication, with 90% of its work contracted to Gem Construction – Paul employs 120 people, including subcontractors. “A lot of the lads on silage are also on groundworks. They’d come in and draw silage during the summer, while the groundworks and steel fabrication continue all year around. We could have 40-60 men on groundworks at any given time, up to 14 in the steel fabrication and we also provide site services on building sites, with 20 lads at that.”
From a state-of-the-art workshop, RKC produces a vast range of steel products including balconies, railings, stairs, structural steel, gates, railings, etc. and can also erect one-off agricultural sheds. Indeed, between all his various activities, Paul also has the capacity to build one-off private houses.
“My son Sean is in a very good job at the moment, but I’d be hoping that one day he might come on board here when he’s ready and happy to do so,” the Westmeath contractor concludes. “He’s well clued in, has a good eye for detail and a good head on his shoulders – all qualities which are hard to come by in young people these days.
“You have to treat all your staff equally and not ask somebody to do something that you wouldn’t ask someone else to do or be prepared to do yourself. When you put a lad out on the road with maybe 20 tonnes of equipment on the back of a tractor moving at up to 50kmph, you are responsible for anything that might happen. That’s why I tell all my boys to be extra careful and to tip along slowly on the public roads. There’s a house every 100 yards now, even on country roads. It used to be every mile and you could stop at nearly any house for a cup of tea but things have changed and there are people living everywhere now and you have to respect them and make sure that everyone gets home safe and healthy at the end of every day.”
Cloghan Road,
Killucan,
Mullingar,
County Westmeath.
Tel: 085 8114444
Email: [email protected]
RKC Website – https://www.rkc.ie/
Scally silage facebook https://www.facebook.com/Scally-Silage
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 9 No 6, November/December 2021
