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Our fleet of Valtra tractors at the Roscommon Tractor run !

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Our JCB that was introduced to the business last year bought brand new

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Our new Big M mower that was bought this year. The Big M is working hard this time of year to get to all your silage needs !

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The Big X picking grass for the silage pits all over Ireland

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Our 2011 lorry being used for the long draws.

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The lorries working hard removing sludge from the factories and spreading it on farmers land.

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One of our many dribble bars putting slurry out on fields.

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Picking Silage back in the summer of 2019

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A clip of the way or slurry system operates!

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Some more silage harvesting.

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Contractor Maurice Gannon's silage harvesting fleet (2017)

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Gannon Agri Contractors picking today with their KRONE - The Power of Green big x 630.

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Maurice the man behind it all, the owner of Gannon Agri.

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Maurice Gannon runs a busy farming and contracting operation at his base - close to Creggs on the Galway/Roscommon border.

His tillage enterprise stretches across 400ac of ground; Gannon also undertakes up to 1,000ac of grassland reseeding each year.

The main operations revolve around silage harvesting and slurry work, though Gannon does offer a "full range of agricultural contracting services".

The family business tackles pit silage (over 2,500ac each year) and baled silage (typically up to 15,000 bales per year, depending on the season).

Speaking to AgriLand this week, Gannon gave us an insight into the operation, focusing on the machinery fleet in particular.

How loyal are you to particular brands?

We run all Valtra tractors; we have 10 at the moment - so you could say that we do stick with one brand in the main. Years ago, we ran Deutz. They were OK at the time; some of those tractors were very good in fact. However, the local dealer was winding down at the time, so back-up and support were going to become an issue.

In 1999, I bought our first Valtra [Valmet] - a 140hp 8450 model. At the time, I needed to change and, in reality, I could've gone down any route; it could just as easily have been New Holland or John Deere.

The Valtra dealer came on the scene at the right time; so I bought a new one and haven't looked back since. All of our tractors are now Valtras; the most recent ones are fourth-generation T Series models - a 161-reg T234 and a newer 171-reg T234. The older of the two already has 2,500 hours clocked up.

Who is your preferred dealer?

We work with a lot of dealers, as we run quite a few different machines. For the tractors, we deal with Clarke Machinery in Ballyjamesduff; we have been dealing with them since 1999.

The forage harvester came from TFM - from the Templetuohy branch. They've since opened up a depot in Tuam, which is closer to us. Again, like Clarke Machinery, the service is very good.

Pro Trailers & Machinery in Athlone is also an important dealer for us; they supplied our Krone and Amazone equipment.

What is the best tractor you've ever had?

It is probably the Valtra [Valmet] 8450 Mega that I bought in 1999. That tractor went on to do almost 25,000 hours of work. It was practically bullet-proof. We also had an 8750 that did a huge amount of work.

We moved on to the early-generation T Series models in 2004; the first was a T190. We were running four Valtra tractors at that stage. Those early models are the reason why we run all Valtras today.

What is the worst tractor you've ever had?

People are surprised when I say this but it was a Zetor Crystal; I don't think they're bad tractors in general, but I certainly got a troublesome one.

I actually started off in business with a second-hand Crystal, which was a good tractor - so much so, in fact, that I decided to buy a brand new one - a 14145. Everything gave trouble on the new one - the engine, transmission, back axle and PTO; you name it.

I bought it to drive a double-chop [silage] harvester at the time, but it managed to do very little work.

What is your favourite piece of machinery?

Probably the umbilical slurry spreading systems; we have two of them.

We bought the first one five or six years ago; it was the best investment we ever made. It created extra work for the business and it got us into new areas. Nowadays, we travel up to 40 miles from our base with it.

We drive the pumps using 190hp tractors; they don't need all of it but that's just the way it works out. Our smallest tractor is 170hp, so all the tractors are fairly big.

The slurry is applied using a splash-plate on one system and a dribble-bar on the other, so we can work whichever way the customer wants. Once you're set up on a farm, you can pump up to a maximum distance of about 1,500 or 1,600m.

What is your least favourite piece of machinery?

Nothing really stands out, but I wasn't a big fan of our Pottinger power harrows when we used to run those. They had a tendency to shear rotors off; it was difficult to get the back-up service then - but that was a long time ago.

What is your latest purchase?

A 6m-wide, folding Amazone power harrow. We only got it recently, so I can't really comment on its performance yet. It's shaping up well though; it cost €34,000 excluding VAT to buy.

How long do you keep tractors and machinery?

It depends on the tractor or machine and how much work it's doing. We try to buy one new tractor every year at the moment. We'd usually push one of the existing tractors back to lighter work then, to make way for the new one. While that's happening, an older model might be sold off or traded in.

We have kept some tractors to very high hours - if they're not giving trouble. Sometimes, it's better the devil you know!

Do you buy new or second-hand?

Recent tractors that have come into the yard have been new. Some of the busiest machinery is also bought new; other machines are bought second-hand - such as the combines.

Do you buy genuine or spurious (generic) parts?

If we're buying critical parts for the internals of a tractor, we would tend to go for genuine ones. But for something less critical - like pick-up tines for example - we consider all the options.

Most costly machinery repair?

I'm not sure; nothing in particular jumps out. We did have a tractor stolen back in 2003, which could have been very costly - were it not for the fact that we were fully insured.

It was a Valtra [Valmet] 8950. We had bought her second-hand, but she was only two years old at the time. We only had it four weeks; it disappeared away from a job we were on and we never saw it again.

That tractor had a front PTO and front linkage; it also had front axle suspension. It was a beautiful machine and a great find; I wish we still had it.

The loader - without a doubt. We have a JCB 416S Farm Master. You couldn't be without a loading shovel, having had one around the place. Apart from pushing up silage and loading dung, it's very useful for other things too.

There's hardly a day that goes by that it doesn't get used. Sometimes, you could do without a tractor for a day or two, but the loader is needed all the time.

Most useful item in the farm workshop?

Battery-powered impact guns [impact wrenches] and grinders are very handy - especially, for example, when you have to repair a mower out in the field. The grinder makes short work of cutting wire off a disc or a conditioner rotor.

A battery-powered impact gun is useful, for instance, for changing over connections on the umbilical pump; tools like those help to get you going again - quickly.

Any home modifications or changes to your set-up that stand out?

We built a couple of 5m-wide land levellers in our own workshop. We made them the way we wanted; it takes time but it can pay off for a simple, manageable implement like that.

What is your favourite machinery job?

There's probably nothing more relaxing than cutting a nice crop of wheat or barley - in ideal conditions on a good, warm day.

We enjoy most of the work, but it's good to swap over to new jobs as the seasons change. You'd be looking forward to the silage, for example, before it starts. But by the time the season is coming to an end, you'd nearly be getting fed up of it. The long hours can take a toll.

What is your least favourite machinery job?

Sowing for people in the GLAS scheme; it's usually done in tough conditions or on land that's hard to work. It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, as it's creating work but the crops aren't very productive.

What's worse; they're locked in to each plot for five years; that doesn't encourage a good rotation of crops.

I don't understand why the powers that be can't come up with a policy that allows people to make more productive use of their farms, by supporting them to grow more useful crops on their better land and still look after the environment.

Any classics in the yard?

Not much; there is an old binder from the 1950s tucked away in a shed. We'll get a chance to do something with it soon. We'll get her out working again; I'm not sure we'll be doing a full restoration though.

Thoughts for the future?

I'd like to think that there is a future is this business. I have three sons - all of whom have a keen interest and are involved in it. They are 18, 21 and 23 years-of-age.

They either have or are getting agri-related qualifications and I'm looking forward to seeing the business push on into the future.

Machinery includes:

Tedder: Krone 6-rotor unit

Forage harvester: John Deere 7550

Baler: McHale Fusion 3 Plus

Sprayer: Hardi Master (12m; 1,500L)

RELATED STORIES

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Fleet profile: Galway contractor reveals his machinery 'highs' and 'lows'

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Maurice Gannon runs a busy farming and contracting operation at his base - close to Creggs on the Galway/Roscommon border. His tillage enterprise stretches across 400ac of ground; Gannon also undertakes up to 1,000ac of grassland reseeding each year. The main operations revolve around silage harvesting and slurry work, though Gannon does offer a "full range of agricultural contracting services".

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Maurice Gannon runs a busy farming and contracting operation at his base - close to Creggs on the Galway/Roscommon border.

His tillage enterprise stretches across 400ac of ground; Gannon also undertakes up to 1,000ac of grassland reseeding each year.

The main operations revolve around silage harvesting and slurry work, though Gannon does offer a "full range of agricultural contracting services".

The family business tackles pit silage (over 2,500ac each year) and baled silage (typically up to 15,000 bales per year, depending on the season).

Speaking to AgriLand this week, Gannon gave us an insight into the operation, focusing on the machinery fleet in particular.

How loyal are you to particular brands?

We run all Valtra tractors; we have 10 at the moment - so you could say that we do stick with one brand in the main. Years ago, we ran Deutz. They were OK at the time; some of those tractors were very good in fact. However, the local dealer was winding down at the time, so back-up and support were going to become an issue.

In 1999, I bought our first Valtra [Valmet] - a 140hp 8450 model. At the time, I needed to change and, in reality, I could've gone down any route; it could just as easily have been New Holland or John Deere.

The Valtra dealer came on the scene at the right time; so I bought a new one and haven't looked back since. All of our tractors are now Valtras; the most recent ones are fourth-generation T Series models - a 161-reg T234 and a newer 171-reg T234. The older of the two already has 2,500 hours clocked up.

Who is your preferred dealer?

We work with a lot of dealers, as we run quite a few different machines. For the tractors, we deal with Clarke Machinery in Ballyjamesduff; we have been dealing with them since 1999.

The forage harvester came from TFM - from the Templetuohy branch. They've since opened up a depot in Tuam, which is closer to us. Again, like Clarke Machinery, the service is very good.

Pro Trailers & Machinery in Athlone is also an important dealer for us; they supplied our Krone and Amazone equipment.

What is the best tractor you've ever had?

It is probably the Valtra [Valmet] 8450 Mega that I bought in 1999. That tractor went on to do almost 25,000 hours of work. It was practically bullet-proof. We also had an 8750 that did a huge amount of work.

We moved on to the early-generation T Series models in 2004; the first was a T190. We were running four Valtra tractors at that stage. Those early models are the reason why we run all Valtras today.

What is the worst tractor you've ever had?

People are surprised when I say this but it was a Zetor Crystal; I don't think they're bad tractors in general, but I certainly got a troublesome one.

I actually started off in business with a second-hand Crystal, which was a good tractor - so much so, in fact, that I decided to buy a brand new one - a 14145. Everything gave trouble on the new one - the engine, transmission, back axle and PTO; you name it.

I bought it to drive a double-chop [silage] harvester at the time, but it managed to do very little work.

What is your favourite piece of machinery?

Probably the umbilical slurry spreading systems; we have two of them.

We bought the first one five or six years ago; it was the best investment we ever made. It created extra work for the business and it got us into new areas. Nowadays, we travel up to 40 miles from our base with it.

We drive the pumps using 190hp tractors; they don't need all of it but that's just the way it works out. Our smallest tractor is 170hp, so all the tractors are fairly big.

The slurry is applied using a splash-plate on one system and a dribble-bar on the other, so we can work whichever way the customer wants. Once you're set up on a farm, you can pump up to a maximum distance of about 1,500 or 1,600m.

What is your least favourite piece of machinery?

Nothing really stands out, but I wasn't a big fan of our Pottinger power harrows when we used to run those. They had a tendency to shear rotors off; it was difficult to get the back-up service then - but that was a long time ago.

What is your latest purchase?

A 6m-wide, folding Amazone power harrow. We only got it recently, so I can't really comment on its performance yet. It's shaping up well though; it cost €34,000 excluding VAT to buy.

How long do you keep tractors and machinery?

It depends on the tractor or machine and how much work it's doing. We try to buy one new tractor every year at the moment. We'd usually push one of the existing tractors back to lighter work then, to make way for the new one. While that's happening, an older model might be sold off or traded in.

We have kept some tractors to very high hours - if they're not giving trouble. Sometimes, it's better the devil you know!

Do you buy new or second-hand?

Recent tractors that have come into the yard have been new. Some of the busiest machinery is also bought new; other machines are bought second-hand - such as the combines.

Do you buy genuine or spurious (generic) parts?

If we're buying critical parts for the internals of a tractor, we would tend to go for genuine ones. But for something less critical - like pick-up tines for example - we consider all the options.

Most costly machinery repair?

I'm not sure; nothing in particular jumps out. We did have a tractor stolen back in 2003, which could have been very costly - were it not for the fact that we were fully insured.

It was a Valtra [Valmet] 8950. We had bought her second-hand, but she was only two years old at the time. We only had it four weeks; it disappeared away from a job we were on and we never saw it again.

That tractor had a front PTO and front linkage; it also had front axle suspension. It was a beautiful machine and a great find; I wish we still had it.

The loader - without a doubt. We have a JCB 416S Farm Master. You couldn't be without a loading shovel, having had one around the place. Apart from pushing up silage and loading dung, it's very useful for other things too.

There's hardly a day that goes by that it doesn't get used. Sometimes, you could do without a tractor for a day or two, but the loader is needed all the time.

Most useful item in the farm workshop?

Battery-powered impact guns [impact wrenches] and grinders are very handy - especially, for example, when you have to repair a mower out in the field. The grinder makes short work of cutting wire off a disc or a conditioner rotor.

A battery-powered impact gun is useful, for instance, for changing over connections on the umbilical pump; tools like those help to get you going again - quickly.

Any home modifications or changes to your set-up that stand out?

We built a couple of 5m-wide land levellers in our own workshop. We made them the way we wanted; it takes time but it can pay off for a simple, manageable implement like that.

What is your favourite machinery job?

There's probably nothing more relaxing than cutting a nice crop of wheat or barley - in ideal conditions on a good, warm day.

We enjoy most of the work, but it's good to swap over to new jobs as the seasons change. You'd be looking forward to the silage, for example, before it starts. But by the time the season is coming to an end, you'd nearly be getting fed up of it. The long hours can take a toll.

What is your least favourite machinery job?

Sowing for people in the GLAS scheme; it's usually done in tough conditions or on land that's hard to work. It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, as it's creating work but the crops aren't very productive.

What's worse; they're locked in to each plot for five years; that doesn't encourage a good rotation of crops.

I don't understand why the powers that be can't come up with a policy that allows people to make more productive use of their farms, by supporting them to grow more useful crops on their better land and still look after the environment.

Any classics in the yard?

Not much; there is an old binder from the 1950s tucked away in a shed. We'll get a chance to do something with it soon. We'll get her out working again; I'm not sure we'll be doing a full restoration though.

Thoughts for the future?

I'd like to think that there is a future is this business. I have three sons - all of whom have a keen interest and are involved in it. They are 18, 21 and 23 years-of-age.

They either have or are getting agri-related qualifications and I'm looking forward to seeing the business push on into the future.

Machinery includes:

Tedder: Krone 6-rotor unit

Forage harvester: John Deere 7550

Baler: McHale Fusion 3 Plus

Sprayer: Hardi Master (12m; 1,500L)

RELATED STORIES

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Fleet profile: Galway contractor reveals his machinery 'highs' and 'lows'

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Maurice Gannon runs a busy farming and contracting operation at his base - close to Creggs on the Galway/Roscommon border. His tillage enterprise stretches across 400ac of ground; Gannon also undertakes up to 1,000ac of grassland reseeding each year. The main operations revolve around silage harvesting and slurry work, though Gannon does offer a "full range of agricultural contracting services".

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Well-known agri contractor Maurice Gannon runs one of the most impressive fleet of Valtra tractors in the country near the village of Creggs, which straddles the Galway-Roscommon border.

Maurice has been a Valtra man since 1999 when he purchased his first (then Valmet), which was a 140hp 8450 model. Fast forward 20 years and he's now running 10 of them. Indeed, the popular Finnish brand makes up his entire fleet.

Maurice, who runs his busy contracting operation in tandem with his tillage and beef enterprises and his organic waste recycling company Gannon Transport & Environmental Services Ltd, explains how the changeover to Valtra happened more by accident than design.

"I had been with Deutz for years, but then when the local dealer closed, back-up and support suddenly became an issue and it was then that I decided to buy a new Valtra after having a demonstration model for about three weeks. I could just as easily have bought a New Holland or John Deere," he remembers.

"But it turned out to be a great tractor and haven't looked back since. All of our Valtras have come from Clarke Machinery in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan. They opened a new outlet in Roscommon town a couple of years ago which makes them even more accessible to us for sales, maintenance and repairs."

Maurice has taken delivery of three new T234s in each of the last three years. Completing his all-Valtra fleet are six T190s and one T202.

The Valtras are put to work on his own farm and on numerous other farms within a wide radius of Creggs. His contracting business, Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor, covers Galway, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath and sometimes further afield. Having started baling hay in the early 1980s and silage harvesting in 1986, he now provides a complete service, including silage harvesting, slurry spreading, muck spreading, fertiliser spreading, ploughing and reseeding. Helping Maurice to run the different enterprises are his wife Caroline and sons David, Kenneth and Conor.

Committed to providing a top-class service and complete customer satisfaction, Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor has an array of machinery to carry out your work quickly and efficiently, providing you with value-for-money and an alternative to investing in your own expensive equipment. The success of the business can be attributed to the knowledge, skill and expertise of its staff as well as the quality of its machinery. Maurice and his highly-skilled team deliver the value and quality farmers expect from their agricultural contracting partner.

In preparation for the silage season, Maurice has invested in a new Krone Big M harvester and a new JCB 435 loading shovel. He has also purchased two new Mastek dribble bar / umbilical systems as well as a new Major 4,000-gallon slurry tanker. Other plant operated by Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor include six 2,600-gallon Major tankers, two McHale Fusion balers, two Keenan orbital muck spreaders, a John Deere 7550 self-propelled forage harvester, a John Deere mower, a set of front and back Kverneland mowers, a McHale butterfly mower, three 30ft silage rakes (two Krone and one Kverneland), a 30ft Krone tedder, seven Kane silage trailers and a complete range of tillage and grass reseeding equipment, including ploughs and one-pass machinery.

Specialising in pit and baled silage, Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor will work around the clock during peak times to keep clients happy. All machines are serviced and maintained both inhouse and by main dealers to avoid breakdowns and downtime. There is no such thing as a quiet time of the year for this highly-regarded contractor who employs six full-time staff and up to eight others on a part-time basis.

"We have a great crew who enjoy an excellent working relationship with our customers. We retain long-time customers and attract new ones by offering a professional, reliable, clean and value-for-money service. We have between 300-400 customers dotted across the midlands and west. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support and look forward to working for and with them for many more years to come," the affable 54-year-old says.

Maurice's 600-acre farming enterprise produces silage, grain, beet and straw which is sold locally. The silage and grain are also used to rear beef cattle which are bought in as calves. "We finish about 250 cattle a year," he adds.

Maurice supplies his beef to Kepak in Athleague, who he provides an organic waste recycling service to. He started removing waste generated at the beef processing plant and recycling it as fertiliser for local farmers in 2012, and this led to him setting up Gannon Transport & Environmental Services Ltd. Also contracted by Kepak in Ennis to recycle their organic waste, Maurice has two Scania articulated trucks, four articulated tankers, five bulk tipping trailers, one extendable flat trailer and one step-frame trailer dedicated to this end of the business.

"We manage the haulage, storage and land banks for spreading the organic waste for Kepak," he explains.

The north Galway man has worked hard to grow his enterprises and doesn't intend resting on his laurels.

"It's very demanding, you're working all day long, but I do it because I'm passionate about it. It's what I know best and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way," he concludes.
Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor
Keelogues,

Creggs,

Co. Galway.

Telephone: 090 6621220 / 086 2538169
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 7 No 4, August 2019﻿
Maurice Gannon Agri Contractor

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Well-known agri contractor Maurice Gannon runs one of the most impressive fleet of Valtra tractors in the country near the village of Creggs, which straddles the Galway-Roscommon border. Maurice has been a Valtra man since 1999 when he purchased his first (then Valmet), which was a 140hp 8450 model.

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Maurice Gannon never seems to stop working so we really appreciated it when he let us interrupt his hectic schedule to find out more about his outstanding farming and contracting enterprises. At Keelogues, near Cregg in north Galway, we caught up with one of the most enthusiastic, passionate and energetic men on the island.

Eighteen-hour days are par for the course for Maurice Gannon, a successful tillage farmer who also provides excellent contracting services to some 400 farmers or more in the Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford and Westmeath hinterland. Occasionally, he goes even further afield - into Cavan and Monaghan, for example.

With help from his wife Caroline (who looks after all the paperwork) and sons David, Kenneth and Connor, he runs a 400-acre tillage farm. When he's not at home, he's out contracting - spreading slurry, ploughing, sowing, reseeding, silage, harvesting. Maurice also does a fair bit of tree felling and remedial work on trees and is contracted by Kepak in Athleague to recycle organic waste.

And let's not forget the maintenance, repair and general upkeep of Gannon Agri's magnificent fleet! "Maintenance is key and it's a full-time job in itself," says the affable Galway man. "No matter how good your machinery is - or how new - it will wear and it has to be looked after. I do a good bit of the maintenance myself and also use the services of a local fitter as well as the main Valtra dealer."

Speaking of Valtra, Maurice currently operates the most impressive Valtra-orientated fleet in the country, having gradually changed his entire fleet of tractors over to the Finnish marque. "I run ten Valtras at the moment," he confirms. "I bought my first new one in 1999 and found it to be bulletproof. I was all Deutz before that but I demo'ed a Valtra for about three weeks and was very impressed by it. I struck a deal and within a few years I was all Valtra."

A new one was added to the fleet this year. Clarke Machinery Group is the dealer Maurice buys from - he purchases the tractors from their New Inn, Cavan head office and also uses their Roscommon branch for parts etc. "They sell very good, reliable tractors and I receive a great service from excellent fitters and storemen."

Maurice runs a large slurry spreading operation, with two umbilical systems, one with a dribble bar (Slurry Mate). He also owns and operates six 2600-gallon Major tankers, two Fusion balers, a few agitators, two new Keenan orbital muck spreaders, a John Deere 7550 self-propelled forage harvester, three trailed John Deere mowers plus one set of front and back Kverneland mowers, a Kverneland rake, seven Kane trailers and a complete range of tillage and grass reseeding equipment, including ploughs and one-pass tools.

Gannon Agri generates full-time employment all year around for a crew of six men, as well as four part-time positions. Maurice's sons are all at college and the three of them are heavily involved in the business. David (22), is studying agricultural engineering at Tralee IT, Kenneth (20) s doing Agri Business at GMIT; and Connor (18), who has just completed his Leaving Cert, started at Mountbellew Agri College in September.

Between contracting and managing the home farm, the Gannons are kept busy from January until December. The tillage enterprise produces straw, grain and silage, which is sold locally and Maurice also runs a strong calf-to-beef livestock operation, rearing calves during the wintertime - almost as if to make sure he doesn't get a break!

Maurice made his first square bale when he was only ten and started driving tractors around the same time. He's been farming all his life and has built up very strong working relationships and friendships with other members of the farming community near and far. ("It's all repeat business," he notes).

The Galway man has been cutting silage for 31 years and the long hours of hard toil and honest endeavour on farmlands, drinking in the fresh air, have resulted in a strong and healthy frame that belies his 51 years on the planet. When I put it to him that farming is an incredibly healthy lifestyle, he responded:
"You will be fit for sure, and so will your staff. I love it. I love facing new tasks and new challenges and I love having a workload in front of me. I like to have a lot of work ahead of me and I'd be weighing up jobs and planning it all out in my head weeks in advance - putting a picture in place of what's happening and what way you're going to approach things. I suppose you have to do that when you have so many people working for you."

So it's a case of eating, sleeping and drinking farming? "Eat, sleep, drink, repeat..."

Weather, of course, is the constant enemy. "Weather is a challenge in everything you do. It's the biggest factor, the largest threat. All of our work right through the year from harvesting and baling to slurry spreading all needs good weather. So weather is a major factor right across our operation."

It's all fine and well being enthusiastic about farming and investing an average of 18 hours a day into it (on a typical day, Maurice is up between 6am and 6:30am and he rarely sees the bed again before ), but at the same time it's all rather pointless if the numbers aren't adding up and you're not producing a viable commercial enterprise. How difficult is it to turn a profit?

"It's demanding - from both a financial and weather point of view - but you have to stay on top of it," he concludes. "I live with this job, 24/7/365 and I never let it go away. If you lose your grip on it, it will slip through your fingers. At the end of the day, I'm doing what I have a passion for and what I'm experienced at and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way."

He was restless. I knew he wanted to get back to work. So it was time for me to head home; and time for Maurice Gannon to go back out onto the land he loves.

Tel: 086-2538169
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 8, October 2016

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Maurice Gannon never seems to stop working so we really appreciated it when he let us interrupt his hectic schedule to find out more about his outstanding farming and contracting enterprises. At Keelogues, near Cregg in north Galway, we caught up with one of the most enthusiastic, passionate and energetic men on the island.

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That's Farming | Farming News | Latest Agri News | Irish Farming News | Farming News Ireland | Farm News - The Online Farming News Network

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That's Farming provides the most up to date and informative gannon-agri news"

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There is very little Maurice Gannon doesn't know about the state of farming on both sides of the Shannon.

he north Galway man - a tillage farmer from Keelogues near Creggs close to the border with Roscommon - also runs a contracting business for everything from ploughing to sowing, liming and applying fertilizer and slurry.

For good measure he will keep your trees or forest in good shape to avoid any worries about the forestry premiums.

He is also the designated contractor for Kepak in Athleague with his firm Gannon Agric removing waste generated at the beef processing plant and recycling it as fertilizer for local tillage farmers.

His contracting beat ranges across north Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford and into Westmeath and his company carries out work for between 300 and 400 farmers in the region.

"It hasn't been a great year with the milk price dropping and the beef prices down. Even tillage was affected. I think the turn in the year came with the bad weather in July and August. That has had a knock-on effect on everything," he says

"But that's the way with farmers. If we have a good year in 2016 then we will forget about this year.

"But the bad weather in July and August did affect everything."

Gannon Agri employs 14 men at the peak of the contracting season and six employees on a permanent basis, Maurice explains.

He describes his working rota as 24/7/365.

His wife Caroline does the office work and their three children - David (21), an agricultural engineering student at Tralee IT; Kenneth (18), an agri-business student at Mountbellew Agricultural College; and Connor (16) who is heading into his Leaving Cert, help out when the work gets tough during the summer months.

"The contracting business these days is beginning to run out of experienced operators," says Maurice, who recalls that he made his first square bale of hay when he was "10-and-a-half.

"Good workers are becoming scarce and the business is losing good lads to other jobs in the computer and hi-tech sectors. I'm lucky.

"My lads have been with me for the past 10 to 15 years and their experience counts because they know the land on all the farms where we work."

He completed harvesting the corn at his 350ac home farm in Keelogues last week.

"We were at it until 10pm on the last night," he says.

Given the workload, he must be due a holiday? "My wife Caroline always asks me when will we book our holiday. I say 'we will see'," he says.

The Gannons, who are married for over 20 years, celebrated their 10th anniversary in Rome and on their 20th anniversary they went to Dubai.

But they generally grab their breaks when the opportunity arises.

This can be tricky given his contractor's almanac which reads as follows: January-February, spreading slurry; March, ploughing; April, sowing; May, reseeding; May-July, silage; August, harvesting and reseeding; September-October, more slurry; November, remedial work on the trees; December, repairing and maintaining the machinery.

And then, magically, we are back to January again.

Indo Farming

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My week: 'The contracting business is running out of experienced men'

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There is very little Maurice Gannon doesn't know about the state of farming on both sides of the Shannon. he north Galway man - a tillage farmer from Keelogues near Creggs close to the border with Roscommon - also runs a contracting business for everything from ploughing to sowing, liming and applying fertilizer and slurry.

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086 253 8169

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mauricegannonagric@eircom.net

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Gannon Agri Contactors

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Kenneth: 0868044030

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Gannon Transport & Environmental Services

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We specialise in the collection and disposal of waste from Septic Tanks, as well as Drain Jetting and Grease Trap Cleaning services. We provide these services across the Domestic, Industrial and Commercial sectors. We possess advanced technology and modern machinery and we have an excellent team of trained professionals, ensuring our customers efficient and effective service.