The majority of farmers rely heavily on agricultural contractors to carry out much of their work during the year.
Financially it is beneficial for the farmer to hire contractors in to do the necessary work rather than invest huge money in machinery that will be only used for a couple of months of the year.
These days, contractors operate the most modern machinery and the workload they get through on a daily basis has increased considerably from times past.
The cost of such machinery is very high, but it is needed for contractors to carry out their duties to the standard that their customers have become used too.
The agricultural contracting business is generally a family affair and for this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we profile a Cork based family run operation.
Aherla Farm & Plant Contracting Ltd offer a wide range of services to a large customer base and having been doing so for the best part of 50 years.
Established by Aidan Deasy, from their premises in Aherla, the range of services and machinery have evolved over the years.
These days, Aidan’s son Jim is involved in the day to day running of the business.
“My father is still involved here and still working away. We provide a good few services including slurry work, ploughing, round baling, lime dung and tillage,” said Jim.
“The majority of the customer base that we have would be here since my father first started the business and they have remained loyal to us over the years.”
Jim revealed that although they don’t provide a direct silage cutting operation they are involved in the process on an annual basis.
“We draw silage, rake silage and push up silage for a number of contractors. In some cases, we will bring in a harvester and do the work, but in general, it is just a case of helping out.”
Slurry is a big part of the business and they operate three tankers, one with trailing shoes and two with Mocha swivel spouts.
“Spreading time when compared to a splash plate is very similar but the spread is more accurate and consistent across the complete working width.
“Slurry odour is minimised with no drift and grazing of grass can resume quicker than when slurry is spread with a splash plate system, hence grazing periods are extended.
“With the trailing shoe system, slurry can be applied at later stages of grass growth, compared to a splash plate system which has to be applied at an early stage. There is no increase in power required when compared to an equal size splash plate tanker and the maintenance required is minimal. The tanks suit the land we are working on better.”
Jim does have one gripe with this end of the business and that is the slurry ban that is in place from October 15th to January 15th.
“The ban is very awkward. You’re looking at land in November and December and you know it is in ideal condition for slurry, but yet you can’t spread any. However, you are allowed now and just look at the rain that has fell over the past few weeks. It is very hard to get work done. It should be a common sense call really.”
Another service close to the Deasy’s heart is round baling, something that they have been doing for 25 years now.
“The baling keeps us very busy. We took a Fusion on trial last year and we decided to buy a newer Fusion 3 Plus. The Fusion has been a great investment. The baling would be our bread and butter and it is something that we built up ourselves over the years.”
Aside from the many services that they provide, the Deasy family run a 200-300 acre farm mainly of tillage and some grass.
“Wheat, maize, barley and beet would be the main cereals that we grow on the land, but the current price of cereal means it is a struggle every year.”
To carry out their wide range of services, the business operates a modern fleet of machinery that is upgraded on a regular basis.
“New Holland would be our preferred choice of tractor and there are eight of them here. These would be all bought from MC&S in Ballincollig. We would have a very good working relationship with them and they offer a great back up service.
“All our trailers are Broughan. We find them to be the most reliable and sturdy. They would be bought in McCarthy Plant & Agri Sales. The Fusion came from Atkins, while we also have bought a new low loader this year as well from McCarthys.”
Another part of the business that is growing all the time is their plant work with dump trailers in operation on a daily basis.
“This end of the business is certainly getting busier. We have two 16-ton dump trailers on hire all the time. There has been a big push on private house work in the last while and we have the necessary waste permits to carry out this work.
“All in all, we would be happy with the workload. We have a loyal customer base for which we are grateful and look if the opportunity arises to expand further than we will look at it closely.”
Contact Details:
Aherla Farm & Plant Contracting Ltd
Woodview,
Aherlamore,
Aherla,
Co Cork
Mob: 087-2461014 or 086-2461014
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 3, April/May 2017
Aherla Farm & Plant Contracting
