Brendan McGrath provides customers from across County Limerick with an exceptional and comprehensive agri contracting service. We travelled to Knockainey and met up with Brendan to discuss the history of the business, the range of services provided and to take a look at his fresh and immaculately-maintained fleet.
Brendan McGrath inherited his love of the land from his parents Martha and Tom McGrath, Tom is a dairy farmer and Brendan developed a keen interest in all things farming as he grew up on the family farm in East Limerick. Brendan is keen to acknowledge the initial and ongoing support of family friend Reverend Brother Brendan Garry in setting up his business, a keen confidant and advisor. “After I finished my Leaving Certificate, I bought some machines in late ’98 from a man who had been baling in the neighbouring parish,” he reflects. “I started off doing baling and that’s still our No.1 business today.
“In 2009, I started doing pit silage. I already had some wagons, but in 2010 I bought my first self-propelled harvester – a second-hand ’05 machine.”
Ongoing investment in the fleet has been a recurring theme in recent years. Earlier this year, for example, Brendan invested in a brand-new Claas Jaguar 860 self-propelled forage harvester. He has also added brand-new Claas and New Holland tractors since the turn of the year.
While baling, mowing, tedding, raking and pit silage are very much at the core of the operation, a host of other services are also provided. “We do slurry using either an umbilical pipe system or tankers as well as muck spreading, reseeding and spraying, fertiliser spreading and hedge cutting,” the Limerick man explains. “I also supply hay, silage and straw to customers throughout the winter months.”
On the round baling front, Brendan owns and operates three balers – two McHale Fusions and one standard baler. He benefits from a tremendous amount of repeat custom, with most of his customers coming from within the county boundaries. “The majority of them have been with us the whole way along,” he attests. “We were baling for them and then when we started the pit silage they moved over to include this too. We work mostly in County Limerick but we also extend into Tipperary and North Cork.”
Tractor-wise, Brendan runs seven of his own – five Claas (Axion 810, 630, 620, 610 and 540), one New Holland (T7200) and one John Deere (6830) – and also hires in a couple more during peak times. He owns a Komatsu 320 loading shovel. Everything else is hired from a number of local dealers who provide an excellent sales and back-up service, which Brendan confirms is a vital component in his contracting operation.
Brendan would also attribute much of the success of his business to the team of men operating the machines with him on an ongoing basis. “As has been said before – there is no ‘I’ in team and I have been lucky to be surrounded by an excellent team.”
“When you are supplying a service to farmers, especially silage, the first thing you have to do is have good men and good machinery,” the affable Limerick man observes. Brendan’s brother Thomas – who runs the home dairy farm is the man operating the Claas Jaguar for the summer months.
While his youngest brother Seamus joined some ten years ago and is the main support to the contracting business throughout the year. His sister Martina has also been called upon on occasion to support the family operation…
Of course, all farmers and contractors are at the mercy of the unpredictable Irish weather and mercifully 2015 has been more welcoming than ’14 was:
“Workwise, this year has been going better than last year,” confirms Brendan. “The weather has been kinder and the work is more spread out. Farmers aren’t under as much pressure, which means the contractors aren’t under as much pressure.
“If it’s good in the first week of June, then you can get started on time and go on from there. It was dry this year and we got into a good flow very quickly. Last year, it was very wet up until the 13th of June and then all the farmers came together at the one time looking for us between the 15th and 20th, which was far from ideal. Thankfully, this year the weather has been kinder overall.”
At the heart of Brendan McGrath Agri Services lies a strong work ethic and a determination to provide customers with the best service possible. “The quality of work is very important and we try to give a good service at all times,” says Brendan. “Quality work means a lot to a farmer because they are extremely efficient now and they are running their farms as businesses.
“They are aiming for high-quality silage for the winter and they have a very precise plan and you have to try to fall in line with that as best you possibly can. When it comes to silage-making, farmers would be a lot more particular now than they were when we started making silage. You have to get more done in a shorter window and it has to be of a higher quality. That’s where the good machinery comes into play.”
Meanwhile, rates have remained the same for many years, so contractors are operating off tighter margins. But Brendan isn’t one to complain; he prefers to focus on the positives: “We appreciate the customers we have and we want to hold onto them,” he concludes. “The majority of our customers have been with us for years and years and then we have been lucky enough to add to the customer base year on year.
“Minding the fella you have is very important. A lot of it comes down to the customer – if they stop giving you the work, then you are in trouble.”
Brendan McGrath has never had any problems on that particular front and the signs are encouraging going forward for his impressive contracting business.
Brendan McGrath Agri Services,
Knockainey,
Hospital,
County Limerick.
Tel: 086 8596099
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 7, August 2015
