Farm contractors are currently running 20,000 tractors in the Republic of Ireland and baling 5million bales of silage every year. This year silage has been harvested under ideal conditions although the first cut was light in many cases.

For those making bales the dry weather minimised the need for wilting and reduced the number of bales/acre and associated costs.

Indeed on many occasions the silage was so dry that no wilting was required and some farmers & contractors even cut and baled the grass in one integrated operation.

For all grass silage the dry matter (DM) was high and storage loses will be lower than usual so on a DM basis the silage shortfall my not be as bad as predicted.

However many farmers due to the prolonged period of dry weather have had to feed silage to their livestock to make up for the poor grass growth.

According to John Sheehy, National Chairman of the Association of Farm Contractors of Ireland (FCI) their members employ close to 10,000 skilled operators and used more than 500m litres of diesel annually.

The number of tractors, he said, used by contractors is about one-third of the national tractor fleet or more than 20,000 to carry out their work.

“Our machines harvest more than 5 million bales of silage each year along with spreading more than 20 billion litres of slurry, as well as establishing and harvesting many different food crops," he said.

Sheehy also said that the quality of service and the quality of work provided by farm contractors using their high HP machinery and skilled operators is now at a very high level.
FCI members obviously have a close working relationship with their local farm machinery dealers for buying, hiring and servicing their tractors and other equipment.

However the lack of workers in contracting is a major problem again this year, according to Richie White, Chairman of the FCI in Ireland.

Ag students come out of college and go on J1s or to Australia or Canada especially those who could be involved in this type of contracting work.

This recent poll by Agriland is of interest.

Why Would You NOT Work For An Agricultural Contractor At Silage Time?

• Unsatisfactory pay (37%)
• More attractive job opportunities elsewhere (21%)
• Unpredictable working schedule (18%)
• Long hours (14%)
• Fear of going hungry (6%)
• Unreliable/uncomfortable machines (4%)

At the recent ‘International Agricultural Workforce Conference’ held in Cork on July 10 the lack of availability of an adequate supply of skilled labour worldwide was highlighted as one of the many threats to a successful Agriculture industry.

A more immediate problem for farm contractors this season has been expensive damage caused to their machinery while harvesting silage.

According to the FCI poor planning by farmers ahead of the silage season is creating big problems for their members.

"The extremely high levels of stone and tree-branch damage to machines this year are adding significantly to contractor's costs," said FCI Chief Executive Michael Moroney.
"Some of our members are reporting increasing levels of machine damage to mowers, tedders and harvesters this year.

"They have picked up everything from boulders to bed frames, with one contractor we know of taking a full-size field gate into a new and expensive self-propelled mower," he added.

"We are asking farmers to take time to examine their planning deficits that resulted in land not being checked for stones and fallen tree branches prior to this season."

GLAS, The Garden Landscaping and Amenity Sportsturf trade show, takes place at the Citywest events centre and hotel in Saggart, Co Dublin, takes place this Thursday, July 19th from 9am to 5pm and will include machinery demos from some leading companies.

Companies announced by the organisers as showing off the latest machinery innovations and demos on the market are:

• De Wild BV
• Dublin Grass Machinery
• Excelerate
• Greentek
• Irish Farm & Garden Machinery
• Irish Grass Machinery
• Leinster Turf Equipment
• Martyns Grasslawns
• Michael McDonoghue Plant Sales
• Southern Machinery
• Wilson Machinery
• Woodpecker Environmental

With the support of Bord Bia, the trade show says it expects to attract over 1,000 visitors this year from the horticulture, sportsturf, grounds maintenance and related industries.

Along with its core focus on amenity horticulture for the retail and landscaping sectors, GLAS says they will attract trade visitors from the greenkeeping, sportsturf and forestry sectors.

Doyle’s Wholesale, importers and distributors of garden, construction and outdoor power equipment have chosen Irish rugby union player, Tadhg Furlong, as their brand ambassador for Stiga.

Tadhg Furlong

Doyle's say that Stiga machinery is known for its reliability and power, as well as being specialists in their field, as is the Wexford tight head prop Furlong, a powerhouse and specialist in his chosen position.

Headquartered in Italy, Stiga manufacture rear collection and mulching tractor lawnmowers and garden power equipment. For over 80 years Stiga have been designing equipment specifically for European and Irish conditions which are quicker to mow, lower in pollution whilst returning valuable nutrients back into the lawn.

Stiga’s products also include robotic lawnmowers that can be easily controlled and programmed from your phone or tablet. Stiga also produce an extensive range of battery powered garden tools.

Tadhg is no stranger to the outdoor life coming from a farming family in Campile, Co. Wexford and enjoys being on the farm just as much as he does playing for his province or country.

John Foley, Managing Director of Doyle's Wholesale is delighted with this new association for Stiga. “We are delighted to have such a powerhouse of Irish sport and a man with a strong grassroots background representing Stiga, one of our biggest garden equipment brands," he said.

"We wish Tadhg all the best in his upcoming games and look forward to working with him over the coming year”.

The Alltech Keenan company recently hosted an open day on Wednesday 20 June at Borris, Co Carlow.

Visitors at the Alltech Keenan Open Day - picture, Roger Jones

This is an annual event and was well attended by farmers interested in buying new or refurbished mixer wagons.

The Keenan mixer wagon is described as the market leader and there are an estimated 10,000 mixer wagons operating on the island of Ireland.

This is a growth market as farmers learn about the benefits of buffer feeding.

The volatile weather conditions over the last two years clearly show that we cannot depend on grass

So more livestock farmers & milk producers in particular are contracting with tillage farmers to supply them with barley, straw, maize silage, fodder beet etc.

To feed these crops to livestock in a balanced diet one needs a to use a mixer wagon and there are well over ten brands competing on the Irish market.

At the open day a number of leading Irish ag tech companies were also in attendance, including Herdwatch, Grasstec, Moocall, Maizetech and Samco.

Visitors were advised how these technologies and services can support and help improve day-to-day farming.

There was a full complement of Keenan machines on display ranging from 10 to 28 cubic metres.

This varied from the renowned paddle range to the more recent vertical assortment (tub mixers wagons) in addition to the all-new 177hp Keenan self-propelled machine on display.

And of course there were excellent finance packages available for interested customers.

Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo-based Major Equipment has announced a series of upgrades to their tractor mounted Swift Roller Mowers.

Built light to allow them to be used on smaller compact tractors, the company boasts there is no compromise on strength with the use of Strenx™ 700 MC high-yield steel, which is stronger than steel traditionally used in machinery.

Now the mower bodies are galvanised using zinc hot-dip galvanisation for added protection from harsh exterior conditions. Hot-dip coating of the metal doubles the life span compared with painting and, Major say, it will protect steel from corrosion in most atmospheric conditions for 25 to 30 years.

Major has also introduced a three-year professional warranty for all models in their Swift Roller Mower range and the custom designed gearbox has been upgraded for improved and consistent mowing..

The company also says high speed blade tips on the roller mowers offer higher output with a professional cylinder mower finish.

Dealers Farmworks Machinery in Ballyboughal, Co. Dublin recently held two product days, promoting both the latest Fendt and Kuhn Farm Machinery products to customers.

A selection of machinery from both manufacturers was on display, with experts from both on hand to discuss the equipment.

Fendt tractors on show included models from the 300, 500, 700, 800 and 900 series. These were featured alongside a C-Series (straw walker) combine harvester, Tigo silage wagon and both trailed and self propelled rogator sprayers.

Kuhn machines which featured over the days included a fixed chamber combi baler wrapper, rear and front mounted conditioner mowers, Vari-Master 153 plough, Metirs trailer sprayer, trailer square bale wrapper, Culimer Cultivator, Venta LC mounted onepass system and variable chamber belt baler.

A spokesperson for Fendt said, "It was great to join Farmworks Machinery at their recent Fendt product open days. Look out for events happening in other areas through our dealer network."

Visit Farmworks Machinery's Facebook page to view a selection of pictures from the event taken by Peter Gaffney.

According to the Farm Contractors of Ireland (FCI) there has been a 36% increase in agricultural diesel fuel costs – to €0.75/L (including VAT) in 2018.

This increase, it says, will add more than €500 per day in fuel costs to the overall expense of running a modern (contractor’s) silage harvesting system.

The FCI is very concerned by the increases in the cost of agricultural diesel – up dramatically from €0.55/L (including VAT) this time last year.

In response, the FCI is seeking the removal of the ‘Carbon Tax’ from agricultural diesel used by contractors – to allow them to maintain silage harvesting charge-out rates at 2017 levels.

It has written to both the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed – pressing for action to be taken.

Farmers worldwide are feeling the pinch as fuel costs rise to near four-year highs just as they plant and harvest their fields, eroding agricultural income already hamstrung by depressed crop prices.

The price of ultra-low sulphur diesel used for farming equipment and transporting crops has not been this high in May since 2014.

The good news is that diesel prices continue to slowly fall. They are some 3c/l to 4c/l lower than the recent peak in late May.

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However despite the fall over recent weeks, oil prices are still about 60% higher than 12 months ago.

Väderstad has launched a new app with smartphone and tablet compatibility that brings pictures in brochures marked with the Augmented Reality (AR) logo into a three dimensional picture format and video.

For example, the Väderstad AR technology allows farmers and advisers to see how the Tempo seed meter works and is able to deliver precision at high speed, or how a roller change in the metering system Fenix III is carried out.

“The Väderstad AR technology makes content in our new brochures come to life, and is a good way for us to highlight the agronomical benefits on a farm level,” says Vaderstad UK’s marketing manager Andy Gamble. “The AR app is easy to use. Simply point the smartphone or tablet at the AR icon and this activates the facility so the user can see images and movement videos on the chosen apparatus.”

The Väderstad AR app is available for free download in Apple App or Google Play Store and the first brochures to use this technology is for the Tempo planter and the Seed Hawk air seeder. Five additional brochures released in October 2018 will follow these.