Kieran Kilmartin, Ballinasloe, Co Galway
“We came today for a day out and a look around. I was looking at the straw blowers as we have calves and finish cattle. Rolling out bales is very manual, time consuming and can be a waste of straw.
"The straw blower could probably save 20 to 30% which is a lot. It is a huge cost as we are importing it from the east.
“Even though the cost of fertiliser is coming down, beef nuts are expensive, overall the cost of inputs are crippling us. We can’t just finish them off grass they will be four years old if we do that.”
Kieran Kilmartin (right) at the show on Wednesday.
Glen Condell, Athy, Co Kildare
“I am tillage farming at home and I just came up today to see what new machines are out. I’m not looking to replace just yet but in the future we will be.
“The weather this year was hard to manage especially for the spring corn, it was hard to get it sown. Our winter wheat will be harvested in the next few weeks, it's looking good so far. I don’t think the drought had much affect on it but the weed control this year was harder to get done.”
Dan Reid, Mullingar, Co Westmeath
“We are contracting, doing mainly grass and silage work. I came down today to see what new machines are out there and just having a look as we might upgrade stuff.
“The biggest thing we are seeing is that fields have dried out so much, a lot of ground has become very rough and it’s having its toll on machines. Parts are always a challenge to get, nothing ever seems to be in stock when we want it.
“As always, it’s a struggle to get drivers, even with schools out now you would have to be careful and it takes time to train them up.”
Dan Reid, contractor
John Fewer, Co Kilkenny
“My son and I are contracting, we own all our machines which is a great help and we always try to fix any problems with the machines ourselves. We have cattle and we try to farm our own land as organically as we can.
“We were looking at the teleporters. We have ones already and they are the most used machine in the yard, because we can use it for everything. The bales are the biggest thing we use them for because you can stack them well. We also use them when cleaning out sheds for farmers, there’s a grab for the front and you would have it done in half the time.”
John Fewer, contractor
Des Byrne, Newtownforbes, Co Longford
“I am beef farming but we also grow a few cereals to feed to our own stock. We came today for a look but also to see some of the tillage machines.
“Keeping the overheads under control is probably the biggest worry, growing our own has helped to keep a cap on the spending. We roll the wheat and barley ourselves when we need it and just use a wet treated system with an enzyme to keep it fresh. The show seems a bit smaller this year but it’s a day out for us anyway.”
Frank, Adam and Des Byrne, calf to beef farmer
Fionn Nolan, Kilcullen, Co Kildare
“We are farming tillage at home, we grow wheat, barley, rye and some beans. I just came to have a look at the different machines here today. The drought this year really affected the spring crops, it will be late next week depending on the weather if we will harvest the winter crops. We have some of the crop lodged now as well.”
Fionn Nolan, tillage
Kieran Kilmartin, Ballinasloe, Co Galway
“We came today for a day out and a look around. I was looking at the straw blowers as we have calves and finish cattle. Rolling out bales is very manual, time consuming and can be a waste of straw.
"The straw blower could probably save 20 to 30% which is a lot. It is a huge cost as we are importing it from the east.
“Even though the cost of fertiliser is coming down, beef nuts are expensive, overall the cost of inputs are crippling us. We can’t just finish them off grass they will be four years old if we do that.”
Kieran Kilmartin (right) at the show on Wednesday.
Glen Condell, Athy, Co Kildare
“I am tillage farming at home and I just came up today to see what new machines are out. I’m not looking to replace just yet but in the future we will be.
“The weather this year was hard to manage especially for the spring corn, it was hard to get it sown. Our winter wheat will be harvested in the next few weeks, it's looking good so far. I don’t think the drought had much affect on it but the weed control this year was harder to get done.”
Dan Reid, Mullingar, Co Westmeath
“We are contracting, doing mainly grass and silage work. I came down today to see what new machines are out there and just having a look as we might upgrade stuff.
“The biggest thing we are seeing is that fields have dried out so much, a lot of ground has become very rough and it’s having its toll on machines. Parts are always a challenge to get, nothing ever seems to be in stock when we want it.
“As always, it’s a struggle to get drivers, even with schools out now you would have to be careful and it takes time to train them up.”
Dan Reid, contractor
John Fewer, Co Kilkenny
“My son and I are contracting, we own all our machines which is a great help and we always try to fix any problems with the machines ourselves. We have cattle and we try to farm our own land as organically as we can.
“We were looking at the teleporters. We have ones already and they are the most used machine in the yard, because we can use it for everything. The bales are the biggest thing we use them for because you can stack them well. We also use them when cleaning out sheds for farmers, there’s a grab for the front and you would have it done in half the time.”
John Fewer, contractor
Des Byrne, Newtownforbes, Co Longford
“I am beef farming but we also grow a few cereals to feed to our own stock. We came today for a look but also to see some of the tillage machines.
“Keeping the overheads under control is probably the biggest worry, growing our own has helped to keep a cap on the spending. We roll the wheat and barley ourselves when we need it and just use a wet treated system with an enzyme to keep it fresh. The show seems a bit smaller this year but it’s a day out for us anyway.”
Frank, Adam and Des Byrne, calf to beef farmer
Fionn Nolan, Kilcullen, Co Kildare
“We are farming tillage at home, we grow wheat, barley, rye and some beans. I just came to have a look at the different machines here today. The drought this year really affected the spring crops, it will be late next week depending on the weather if we will harvest the winter crops. We have some of the crop lodged now as well.”
Fionn Nolan, tillage
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