AgriLand paid a visit to Cashel, Co. Tipperary, to meet the dealer principal (Conor Breen) at Breens Farm Machinery – a long-established dealership that has a lengthy relationship with Claas.
Also Read: Video: Taking a tour of a busy tractor workshop in Co. TipperaryIn this video (below – shot by AgriLand’s own Kevin Farrell), Conor explained: “We’ve been in business here in Cashel since January of 1977.
“Over the years, we have expanded. In 2014, we [also] moved to Ennis.
In the early days we took on Renault [tractors] in 1993 and we had phenomenal success with it. We still have a lot of those tractors out working today, even though they’re in excess of 20-25 years old.
“In 2002 we took on the Claas franchise. As most people know, Claas bought out Renault in 2003…and we migrated on from there.
“In 2008 we expanded by taking on the Takeuchi range of diggers. It has been very successful for us, but we also have a lot of other prime brands like Redrock and Trioliet.
“Most recently, we signed up with Schaffer and, then, Hustler from New Zealand.”
Conor noted: “There are two strings to Schaffer. As you can see inside the showroom we have an industrial line, which is the ‘yellow line’. The red machines [‘red line’] are the agricultural machines.
“With the ‘ag’ machines; we would feel that customers – with the price of new tractors being in excess of €100,000 – are now looking at the option of buying a loader.”
He also explained that Hustler is a relatively new franchise for Breens Farm Machinery, saying: “We got our first two containers in a couple of weeks ago [relative to the time of filming].
“It’s a quality product and it’s an option towards a diet feeder. A lot of customers are using bales for second cut and so forth; they’re looking for a cheaper option than a diet feeder. We think that the Hustler is that solution.”
He continued: “2019 has been a very difficult year for farmers; we all know that, but the wheel never stays at six o’clock; it always rises.
I think that, whenever you get a couple of difficult years, the people involved in agriculture are made of the strongest steel that’s [out] there.
I think – going forward – [cattle] prices will rise. Hopefully milk prices will stay somewhere where they are…or even increase a little bit. The tillage man definitely needs a lift.”
Conor concluded: “It’s not easy; it’s not easy running a farm machinery dealership. There are big demands; there are big costs…as every farm machinery dealer knows.
“I suppose; when you deal local you’ll get the service and back-up from the people that you know. It’s a big plus.”
