According to Teagasc’s Annual Review and Outlook 2019 report for the sheep sector, the outlook for 2019 is more positive compared 2018.

The gross margin earned by mid-season lowland lamb producers in 2019 is forecast to be €764/ha. This is a 10% increase compared to the estimated 2018 figure of €693/ha.
Teagasc says that this increase in gross margin can be attributed to the relatively stable outlook for lamb prices in 2019 combined with the expected decrease in the cost of production.

In addition, 2019 margins earned on the average mid-season lowland enterprises will continue to be boosted by the receipt of the coupled Sheep Welfare Scheme payment.

Total overhead costs for the average mid-season lamb enterprise are forecast to increase by less than 1% in 2019. As a result of the forecasted large reductions in input volumes in 2019, total costs of production are expected to be 6% lower in 2019 than in 2018.

While the costs of key inputs for sheep production is predicted by Teagasc to increase in 2019, a reduction in the volume of inputs used will likely lead to a reduction in the cost of production.

Compared to cattle less capital is required per ha for stocking and there is a much quicker return on investment. Sheep can also graze relatively wet & hilly land safely and without damaging the soil structure.

The total number of sheep in the Republic as of June 2018 was 5,105,500 and there are around 36,000 farmers with sheep. Average flock size is around 110 ewes. Donegal is the county with the most sheep (495,163) followed by Galway with 434,693, Mayo at 423,593 and Kerry with 321,372.

Ireland is the fourth largest sheep meat exporter in the world, and the second largest in Europe, exporting over 62,000 tonnes of sheep meat in 2017 totalling €311 million, up from €277 million in 2016. Exports to France and the United Kingdom both recorded increases during 2017 in the region of 7%, accounting for over half of total Sheep meat exports.

Market diversification however is evident with increased growth now being seen in the Canadian, Danish and Swedish markets.

The Department of Agriculture is hoping that significant progress can be made on access to China for Irish sheep meat during 2019, after a meeting with Chinese officials last November.

Senior Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have had productive technical meetings with counterparts in Beijing, in relation to meat market access to this huge market and other topics of mutual interest.

Prospects after Brexit are also excellent as we will not be competing in the French market with British lamb. Close to 90 percent of UK lamb exports are shipped to EU markets. France alone took over 50 percent of British exports in 2016.

To put the EU lamb market in context The UK is the largest producer and the largest exporter of sheep meat in the EU. In 2016 the UK accounted for 40% of EU28 sheep meat production. In that year Ireland accounted for 8% of EU28 production and France accounted for 12%. France is of course a huge market for lamb which is of course very popular with the growing Muslin population in the EU.

So machinery dealers can expect to sell more equipment over the coming years as the average flock size increases and farmers invest in more technology from drones to quad bikes , better fencing/penning/gates, slatted sheds, computerised flock handling facilities etc.

As you can see from the below chart, Irish farm machinery dealers had a very good year last year with new tractor registrations up by 8.5% according to the Irish Revenue Commissioners.

Not surprisingly the registration of used or imported tractors dropped by 12.6%.

The trend is for new tractors to be of higher HP so the number of tractor units registered between new and used (lower HP) tractors is therefore not directly comparable.

According to Gary Ryan, the FTMTA CEO Gary Ryan said, “Over the past 10 years we have seen the sales trend go from 100hp up to 120hp, and this is continuing to rise.”

The most popular power band nowadays is the 101hp to 120hp bracket, which accounted for just over 34.5% of tractor sales from January to October last year.

A further 27% of tractor sales were in the 121hp to 150hp bracket.

An additional 21% of sales were in the 151hp to 200hp power group.

The move of last week’s LAMMA show from its outdoor venue at Peterborough, England to Birmingham’s NEC was welcomed across the board by visitors and exhibitors alike with attendance on both days appearing strong from first thing until late in the afternoon. But from a dealer and manufacturer point of view, perhaps one of the most interesting aspects was the re-establishment of a major UK exhibition as a launchpad for new products from international manufacturers.

While never truly an international show - and notable this year for the absence of some key names among the larger multinationals - LAMMA is well-known as a key show for UK manufacturers involved in sectors where UK engineering is particularly strong - sprayers and hedge trimmers, for example, with those companies often using the event to launch their key new products.

This year, though, it was notable that key global players used the reinvigorated event to make major launches. Among them was the UK’s largest privately-owned maker of farm equipment, JCB, which revealed a completely new cab design for its key Loadall telescopic handler models. Featuring more space, improved vision and enhanced operator controls, it will feature on the new III-series Loadall range, which consist of four models with up to 200kg greater load capacity than the models they replace.

Among the overseas-based multinationals to make a major announcement was fellow handling specialist Manitou. The French firm made a global announcement that it was integrating its Mustang skid-steer range into its Manitou product line, under the full Manitou brand and livery. The firm’s separate Gehl skid-steer range remains unchanged.

But there was also plenty from the UK makers who almost always use the show as their major launch event. Shelbourne Reynolds announced larger diet feeder models and a twin-rotor hedge trimmer head, while Knight revealed a series of upgrades for its key trailed and self-propelled sprayer lines.

Off the back of a successful first year at its new venue, the future development of the show will be interesting. Many visitors were heard to express their surprise and dismay at the lack of some key names, although those makers that were present among the likes of the tractor manufacturers took full advantage of getting show visitors onto machines they had perhaps never looked closely at before the event, and were also singing the praises of helpful show and venue organisation staff.The absentees still appear to be concerned about cost versus value, but there remained some obvious spare space in parts of the halls, and it remains to be seen whether that is taken up at LAMMA 2020.

Read Martin Rickatson's full LAMMA report in the next edition of Service Dealer magazine.

Eardly Agricultural Service has been appointed as a Deutz-Fahr dealer for counties Carlow & Kilkenny.

This well known farm machinery dealer is based at Unit 34, in the Hebron industrial estate, Kilkenny.

They will be an agent for Deutz-Fahr tractors, combine harvesters and machinery.

The Eardly dealership already holds several agencies including Amazone, Krone, Quicke, APV seeders, Zuidberg, Tanco and Grass Tech.

Michael Eardly is sales manager, Nicholas Maher is the service manager and Rod Hogan is the manager for spare parts.

Thieves have changed to targeting older tractors which have little or no security, according to the Garda Stolen Vehicle Investigation Unit.

Unfortunately the recovery rate fell last year from over 70% to around 65%.

The crooks are also focusing on smaller tractors which are easier to transport.

Given their ever increasing numbers it is not surprising that the theft of quad bikes has also increased with around 65 reported stolen last year.

However, the recovery rate has also improved with 39 recovered (72%) for October to date (most recent figures available).

John Deere’s research and development work has been rewarded with two silver medals at the SIMA 2019 show, which will be held in Paris from 24 to 28 February 2019.

Machine Dashboard is the latest remote diagnostic tool developed by the company. This dealer tool is part of the John Deere Connected Support initiative, which the company says is designed to "enable a proactive dealer service approach and deliver customer value through machine connectivity and advanced data analytics". Deere says it reduces diagnostic time and minimises downtime, resulting in higher levels of machine availability, improved machine performance and lower operating costs.

This new service provides remote machine monitoring and notifications to John Deere dealers via the JDLink telematics system. Based on the customer’s consent, JDLink machine data are automatically analysed via a patented algorithm, and the results are presented to the dealer in real time as a prioritised machine list. This allows the dealer to easily and quickly identify machines that require immediate service attention to minimise the risk of unexpected machine downtime.

Furthermore, Machine Dashboard fully integrates and exploits the capabilities of the Expert Alerts tool. Thanks to this tool, the dealer is proactively informed about potential machine component failures, with clear instructions on how to solve the issues identified. According to John Deere, both components allow customers and dealers to reduce service costs and improve operational efficiencies, to get work done on time with fewer service interruptions.

John Deere Connected Support tools including Expert Alerts and Machine Dashboard are available factory installed on new John Deere self-propelled equipment and can be dealer installed on recent model ranges, including 6M to 9R Series tractors, self-propelled sprayers, combines and forage harvesters.

Nearly 100 European John Deere dealers are already delivering machine services based on John Deere Connected Support. These innovative new service tools will be available in all EU-28 as well as most CIS countries.

With the Live NBalance tool, Airbus and John Deere are able to offer for the first time live monitoring of nitrogen balance in the field. This joint project is based on a combination of satellite images and machinery data, which continuously observe nitrogen uptake by the crop in each part of the field.

During the growing season, the service allows the farmer to make more informed decisions on subsequent fertiliser applications. After harvest, it summarises the total N applied and removed, ready to use for regulation purposes.

Farmers currently cannot obtain accurate, site-specific information about both applied and consumed nitrogen in their fields during the season; instead they have to make fertiliser management decisions based on personal experience and book values.

In addition, they do not have any opportunity to precisely check the efficiency of a particular nitrogen application. John Deere and Airbus have therefore combined their know-how to prototype an unprecedented service, by merging both machinery data and satellite images.

The SALTEX 2018 post-show visitor survey has revealed that an overwhelming amount of attendees felt that the event was the best and most vibrant show to date.

Following two days of networking, education and innovation, the UK's 73rd SALTEX exhibition closed with an independently audited, visitor total of 8,902.

Visitors attended from 44 different countries and according to the findings of this year’s visitor survey, these attendees included grounds personnel, greenkeepers, landscapers and contractors.

The event organisers say they are very pleased to hear that 90 per cent of visitors, who took part in the survey, were successful in meeting their show objectives and equally as many rated their overall show experience as either very good or excellent and 90 per cent of visitors have already put SALTEX 2019 into their diaries, which takes place at the NEC from 30-31 October.

Survey respondents said that their top priorities for attending were to source new products/services and suppliers (79 per cent) and discover new innovations (77 per cent).

More than 47 per cent used their visit for professional development by attending show features such as the Learning LIVE education programme, Ask the Expert and the Job Clinic.

More than half of the survey respondents held a leading or management position at their respective companies, with 84 per cent either having sole responsibility for purchasing or contributed to the process. In addition, 65 per cent had the ability to sign-off on amounts up to £50,000 and 12 per cent had the ability to sign-off on amounts of more than £500,000.

The survey findings also revealed that SALTEX visitors had very specific interests: almost 80 per cent attended to find out more about machinery, power and hand tools for their daily work and nearly half of the visitors were interested in seed, turf and aggregates. More than 38 per cent of visitors wanted to see exhibitors representing both sport surfaces and facilities and landscaping materials. Other areas of interest included: arboriculture, horticulture and forestry (37 per cent); commercial vehicles, tyres and trailers (33 per cent); synthetic turf (24 per cent) and security, personal protection, health and safety (18 per cent).

We’re a company that values practical skills, problem solving, team work and initiative. We are recruiting

• technicians
• parts personnel
• parts & service apprentices
• sales staff.

Visit our website www.JohnDeere.ie for details and how to apply.

Email us 31enquiries@johndeere.com