Agricare now trading as Quaile Machinery

FTMTA member firm Agricare, led by Kenny Quaile in north county Dublin, is now trading as Quaile Machinery. The new name and logo were officially launched at the recently held national potato conference.

At the conference, Quaile Machinery also announced its appointment by Scanstone as its sole dealer for the Republic of Ireland. Brian Finnegan, who will be well-known to many potato growers around Ireland, joined Quaile Machinery in January and will be supporting Scanstone customers, along with Ian Rooney in sales.

Scanstone produces a wide range of potato equipment including bedformers, bedtillers, destoners, windrowers and harvesters. Quaile Machinery can be contacted at sales@quailemachinery.ie.

FTMTA welcome TAMS slurry payment extension

The FTMTA welcomes the recent announcement by the Department of Agriculture that the payment period for low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment grant-aided under TAMS II has been extended from six to twelve months. The previous criteria was, in line with many TAMS II grants, that proof of payment had to be submitted within six months of grant approval.

The six-month deadline was causing problems due to lengthening lead times for such machines driven by much increased demand supported by the TAMS II programme. The association had received considerable feedback from member firms in relation to potential issues with meeting the six-month deadline and is pleased that the Department took such a timely and proactive approach to our representations on this matter.

Growth in European tractor market

Recent figures from CEMA, the representative body of the European agricultural machinery manufacturing sector, indicate substantial growth in the European tractor market during 2017.

CEMA reports that, in total, 161,235 agricultural tractors were registered in 30 European countries during 2017, which represents a nearly 13% increase on 2016.

The increase in tractor registrations is mostly due to a peak in registrations in December, with registrations up to that month only marginally ahead of the previous year.

The December figures were mainly driven by pre-registration activity ahead of the introduction of the EU Tractor Mother Regulation in January 2018.

The overall European market outcome contrasts with the Irish figure of 1,796 new tractors registered during 2017, which was a drop of 4% on 2016. A notable point in the Irish market is that there would not have been anything like the same level of pre-registration activity here during December.

Discover Kubota event rescheduled

The “Discover Kubota” event that was originally to be held in Cork on Saturday 3 March by two FTMTA member firms, and Kubota dealers, Atkins Farm Machinery and MP Crowley Ltd has been rescheduled to Saturday 24 March due to the recent weather conditions. The event will be held at the Munster Agricultural Showgrounds, Curraheen Road, Cork, from 10am to 4pm and will showcase the 2018 tractor, groundscare and construction machinery ranges from Kubota