Spare time is at a premium when running a successful agricultural contracting business but brothers Trevor and Alan Wylie still manage to squeeze in an annual fundraiser for a worthwhile cause.
One of the biggest annual fundraisers in Letterkenny is the Wylie Tractor run which generally takes place on the last Saturday in September.
A great family day out, a convoy of tractors, of all shapes and sizes, parade through the Donegal town and, in the four years since its inception, the tractor run has raised a whopping €47,000 for a cancer bus service from Donegal to Galway.
This year’s event raised €17,000 during a wet August, with €5,000 of that going to Cancer West.
The fundraising effort is the brainchild of Alan Wylie.
Their passion for vintage tractors sowed the seeds for the idea and it’s a bonus that they can use that to generate badly needed funds for a worthwhile cause while, at the same, providing an entertaining spectacle for the local community.
“We have a collection of vintage tractors,” explained Trevor,” so we decided to organise a tractor run through Letterkenny on the last Saturday in September.
“We’ve been organising it for four years now and it’s usually have a good turnout and it’s an enjoyable day. We had 120 tractors last year and it’s great to be able to raise money for a good cause, to help bring cancer patients from Donegal to Galway.”
The day job for Trevor revolves around Wylie Bros Agri Ltd which is a family farming and agricultural contracting business located in Drumany, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Using an up-to-date fleet of tractors (Case IH is the make of choice) and machinery, they offer a general agricultural service and operate within a 30 mile radius of Letterkenny.
With more than 45 years experience in the agricultural sector, their customers receive personal attention on a daily business by the brother and their father who also plays an integral role in the business.
Father Alan started the ball rolling and sons Trevor and Alan have inherited his passion for agriculture.
“The company, Wylie Bros Agri Ltd, was only established in May 2011 but the family has been contracting for 45 years,” Trevor remarked.
“My father started the business on top of running the family farm and it has grown from there. The services we specialise in are silage, round baling and slurry.”
Wylie Bros Agri Ltd boast a loyal customer base which is testimony to the quality of their work. Renowned for their diligence and reliability, no job is too big or small.
“We provide a quality and reliable service. We have customers who have been with us for years and they’re happy with the work we do.
“Experience is also vital, our father started off in 1968, so we know what we’re at.”
And, as you would expect, an appetite for rolling up the sleeves and getting the hands dirty is a pre-requisite in their line of work: “If didn’t enjoy it and weren’t happy, you wouldn’t be at it!”
Wylie Bros’ work schedule is full up at the moment but the north-west weather hasn’t been on their side of late.
“We’d be very busy if the weather would pick up! A lot of work on but raining at the minute but the weather affects everything. Silage is the big end at this time of year.”
The unpredictable climate is just one of the challenges facing the brothers in the day-to-day running of their business. The price of fuel, for instance, is a bone of contention that is widespread across the agricultural sector.
“The price of fuel is not helping. Wages was the big thing but fuel is the big bill now. Baling and wrapping is another big expense.”
Those are complaints that are out of the Wylie’s hands and, for now, they will concentrate on consolidating the business moving forward confident in their ability as quality agricultural contractor underpinned by decades of experience.
“We hope keep going as we are in the future,” Trevor concluded.
By utilising Wylie Bros Agri’s services, farmers free up more time to concentrate on others areas of their farm and eliminate the need to invest large sums of money in equipment that they may only need a few times in a year.
Wylie Brothers Agri Ltd
Drumany
Letterkenny
Co. Donegal
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 2 No 6, November 2014
