Doyle Agri, based near Loughrea, Co Galway, was established 50 years ago by Seamus Doyle Sr, who started off the business with a Massey Ferguson 20 Diesel and Active finger bar mower and buck rake.

Since then, the business has grown considerably with the help of his son Seamus Jr, who nowadays takes care of the day-to-day running of the business, while Seamus Sr looks after the cumbersome paperwork and family suckler farm, but is still always on hand to jump into a machine or do the all-important parts and diesel run.

This family run team works very well and has allowed the business to expand and remain profitable despite the pressure on farm incomes.

Today Doyle Agri offers its customers an efficient and reliable service within a 30-mile radius of their base, carrying out silage, whole crop and maize harvesting, baling and wrapping, ploughing and tilling, as well as slurry and plant hire operations.

To keep on top of the workload, Doyle Agri employs three to four staff full-time and up to 10 at busy times, such as silage harvesting.

Speaking about staff, Seamus said: “We are very lucky to have the guys we do. They are reliable and I can trust them to get the job done, which removes a lot of stress from me”.

Good staff can be hard to come by, but Doyle Agri tries to hold on to its employees over the winter by carrying out servicing and plant hire until the spring work comes around again.

Efficient machinery

When it comes to buying new machinery, Seamus by no means makes this decision lightly. All aspects of the machine in question are taken into consideration, such as serviceability, fuel consumption, running cost, parts backup, dealer service as well as resale value.

For example, when making the decision to buy Deutz tractors, Seamus had numerous other brands out on demo and carried out his own fuel consumption test, with results showing 12 to 14 litres per hour difference between brands.

It’s this attitude and view towards efficiency that led to my visit as this season Seamus made the decision to purchase two new Hi-Spec Kompactor K36 trailers in order to further increase the efficiency of his operation.

“In the silage operation, I need a harvester and a loader, which I cannot do without. The only thing I can control is the number of tractors and trailers I have drawing in,” Seamus said.

“The idea behind buying the Kompactor trailers are that I can instantly remove an extra tractor, man and diesel tank from the system, as the two new Kompactor trailers can carry the same volume as the conventional 20ft trailers.”

Five years ago, Seamus went about finding a more efficient way to cut silage as diesel prices were increasing. The window to get the work done is getting smaller, land is more fragmented making draws longer and labour is becoming harder to find.

After hearing about the Hi-Spec Kompactor, he called to see it and got a demo machine for the maize harvest last year. He was so impressed that he purchased two K36 versions for this year.

“I was very impressed with the build quality and finish on the Kompactor initially, particularly that there is nowhere for dirt or more importantly water to lie and cause rust problems down the line. On the road, the stability is second to none, even at 50km/h loaded, which is very important on the byroads around Galway.”

In terms of capacity, which is the Kompactor’s party piece, the K36 is 22ft long and 7.5ft high and will carry the same amount as a standard 22ft silage trailer when not compacted.

However, when using the compaction system, Seamus claims he can get a third more grass into each load and up to 4t extra at maize. This has allowed Seamus to go from 100 acres on an average day to 120 acres in the same time period, as well as adding to capacity.

The Kompactor reduces the amount of tractors on the draw, reducing the likelihood of meeting on lanes, etc.

He gave me an example of a job he did last year with three 22ft trailers and one 18ft trailer. This year, he did the same job with two Kompactors and one 22ft trailer in the same length of time.

The other advantage is that the Kompactor unloads in half the time and is much more stable and safe as it doesn’t tip up. Instead, it simply pushes the load out the back, allowing it to work in low sheds and on uneven ground.

When buying the Kompactors, Seamus went for two K36 models which are 22ft long, on to which he added 650/50-22.5 BKT RideMax wheels for the soft ground conditions and also to increase stability. There is a steering axle on the rear for working in tight spaces.

The Kompactor comes as standard specification with a swivel ring hitch, hydraulic sprung drawbar, which allows the ride height to be easily altered for varying tractor sizes, parabolic 127mm diameter commercial axles with 420x180 brakes, air/hydraulic brakes, four LED road lights at rear, two LED strobe beacons, two reversing lights and mudguards and a hydraulic tailboard.

Seamus ordered one of his Kompactors as the new demountable version, which as the name suggests allows the Kompactor body to be demounted and replaced with various other options such as a slurry tanker, low loader or bale trailer, allowing for the machine to virtually be used all year round.

Operation

The principle behind the Kompactor trailer is to compress the material as it is been loaded; this is done via two hydraulic cylinders and a moving headboard.

When the operator wants to compact the load they engage the hydraulics which pushes the headboard forward and therefore compacts the load. Once the load is compacted, the headboard moves back to the front of the trailer again, allowing more material to be fitted into the same space.

This process is surprisingly fast and can be done on the move – for example, during headland turns or even during side filling, as the Kompactor is fitted with a guide so that the harvester operator can see where the headboard is to avoid spilling material.

Verdict

To be honest, I wasn’t fully convinced on my journey to see them working. I wondered if they are too expensive or too heavy. But after talking to Seamus and seeing them working firsthand I can say yes I see the idea behind them.

In an industry where time is valuable, work has to be done in shorter time frames and costs reduced. The Kompactor does just that.

Are they too heavy for fields? That is the main concern for me. The tyres make all the difference and can keep the Kompactor moving where other trailers would struggle. Of course if ground conditions are challenging any trailer will get stuck but you can still use them as a standard 22ft trailer.

With a retail price in the region of €27,500, it is higher priced than a conventional trailer. The benefits are increased capacity and reduced haulage time. But if you compare the spec you get for that plus the amount of extra material you fit resulting in less loads to haul each year, they are actually quite cheap and I think it’s only a matter of time before more contractors make the move to this system.