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1 week ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
When it comes to grass equipment in Ireland, Krone is a standout for kit such as mowers, foragers, rakes and tedders, while its balers generally wouldn’t be the first thing that come to mind. However, in pockets across the country, Krone balers are popular and have done well for several decades. Based in Ballycastle, in north Co Antrim, the Wilkinson family are milking 120 cows alongside running a large agricultural contracting business.
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1 week ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
The National Ploughing Championships in 2023 played host to the launch of McHale’s ProPel tedder range, with two models initially brought to market. This included the ProPel M6-770, which is a six-rotor mounted machine with a working width of 7.7m (25’3”) and the ProPel T8-1020, which is an eight-rotor trailed unit with a working width of 10.2m (33’ 6”).
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1 week ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
Making bales on hire since 1995, it’s fair to say Sean Gilligan (below) has seen his fair share of bales across three decades. Based in Skehanagh, Co Galway, Sean runs an agricultural business, with round baling being his bread and butter job followed also by slurry spreading, reseeding, tillage works and fertiliser spreading services. Sean is also an avid stockman, running 30 suckler cows.
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2 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
In the world of farming, where its go-go-go and many talk about the latest technology and big equipment, it’s great to catch up with a passionate tillage and beef farmer who is running and maintaining classic machinery. Based near the village of Murrinstown, less than five miles from Wexford town, Frank Cardiff grows 100 acres of tillage and runs a store cattle to beef enterprise on 40 acres of grassland. Frank’s brother, Noel, farms just up the road.
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2 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
Irish machinery manufacturers are on the long list of EU manufacturers to feel the brunt of US President Trumps 20% tariffs on EU exports to the US. The US is a big destination for European machinery and has been a market in which some Irish manufacturers have flourished in recent years. With tariffs on Trump’s cards for some time now, some manufacturers have spent recent months moving as much machinery in and out of the US as possible, in an effort to avoid these additional costs.
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2 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
JCB has completed a restructure of its distribution of agricultural products in Ireland, with the appointment of a fifth new dealer. The well-known manufacturer has just added McHale Farm Machinery, which is based in Kilmaine, as its latest agriculture dealer in Ireland. The firm has said the Mayo dealer will offer sales and service for JCB’s full range of agricultural products, including Loadall telescoping handlers, Fastrac tractors and wheeled loading shovels.
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2 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
JCB is set to double the size of a new factory currently under construction in Texas, as the company confirmed that newly-announced tariffs will affect its business in the short term. JCB has been manufacturing in the USA for 50 years and last year bought 400 acres of land in San Antonio after it said it recognised the need to produce more machines in North America, where the company’s existing manufacturing plant in Savannah, Georgia, has operated for 25 years and employs around 1,000 people.
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3 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
Michael Doyle Auctioneers carried out a reduction sale of machinery on behalf of agricultural contractor William Maher of Callan, Co Kilkenny, in conjunction with his monthly home auction. A 2014 Case Maxxum 140 with 6,000 hours topped the auction, selling for €43,500. This was followed by a 2007 Valtra A95 with a Quicke Q35 front end loader and 4,950 hours sold for €34,000.
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3 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
High labour and machinery costs are agricultural contractors’ biggest challenges at present. This, combined with tight margins, means that contractors today more than ever need to run their businesses as efficiently as possible. A key aspect to this is the equipment they operate on a daily basis. This is something the family behind Byrne Agri and Plant know all too well. Based near Gowran in Co Kilkenny, the Byrnes are less than 15 minutes from HiSpec Engineering.
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3 weeks ago | 
farmersjournal.ie | Peter Keaveney
This week, quotes for bulk quantities of green diesel are hovering around the 98c/l including VAT mark. As we went to press this week, prices being quoted for orders in the region of 1,000l-plus of green diesel, or marked gas oil (MGO) as it’s more formally referred to, were ranging throughout the country from 91.9c/l to €1.02/l, including VAT. Despite a 1.5c/l increase at the beginning of the week, the Irish Farmers Journal fuel survey has noted an average price of 97.8c/l.
