I’ve been involved in the farm machinery business in one way or another for over 40 years and some names stand out at different times over that period. John Conaty operates a farmyard and a modern sales room on the Oldcastle Road, outside of Kells, Co Meath, and over the past 30 years I’ve heard countless farmers and contractors utter the words, ‘‘Conaty will have it’’. He has become a legend in the farm machinery business because of his determination to get you a tractor part, secondhand, spurious or new.

I called to John Conaty’s recently to get a feel for the current range of parts that John and his enthusiastic team keep in stock. The first impression is professional.

Times have moved on significantly since John started breaking tractors in the yard behind the bungalow house in 1980. John himself stays at the helm, he’s at the front counter meeting his customers and one minute later he is running down the yard. His energy is reflected in the team, everybody is active, even though the day I called was a sunny, quiet one before the change in the weather.

John knew that he needed to be prepared for the break in the weather and how different the counter would soon look like. As he walks through the warehouse, he takes calls on the phone or walkie-talkie. He recites locations for parts in the yard for the callers and can recall every part price to either his team or the customer.

The range of parts in stock has improved hugely. Now, John and his team can provide you with secondhand tractor parts and engines as well as replacement parts, both original and spurious, for a range of tractors – new and older.

John took me through his warehousing facility, which is part of a renovated set of stonewall farm sheds. They have been tastefully converted to store thousands of new parts, arranged in robust racking and labelled for fast customer service.

All the sheds have been re-floored, the walls and roofs have been insulated and heating added so that the valuable supply of parts is maintained in good condition. John has moved on from the 100 Series Massey Ferguson parts both in terms of replacement parts and breaker parts. For those restoring older tractors, John Conaty will always have something to offer, either outside as a secondhand part or from his stores.

Ramble out into the yard and the array of parts from tractor dismantling is equally impressive. They range from the back-end of a Fordson Major or Dexta to a front wheel drive axle from a scrapped John Deere 6930. His team are constantly sourcing burnt-out tractors and loaders. These are typically written off as insurance jobs and then John and his team salvage and upcycle the parts for a new generation of owners at cost-effective prices.

Some replacement non-genuine parts are also supplied directly to Conatys from manufacturers in Turkey. These include linkage arms for John Deere, New Holland and Deutz-Fahr tractors, as well as entire engine assemblies.

For the older tractors, John Conaty provides a checked engine service, where you buy an engine that has been checked over by his team. John stresses that this is not an engine rebuild service, while the engine should be good for more on-farm or vintage duty. The engines are re-checked before sale with Perkins, David Brown, Ford and International Harvester engines for older tractors in constant supply.

John has upped his game with a new website www.johnconaty.com where he is constantly adding new items. Today, there are over 13,000 line items in the ever expanding online catalogue. There are as many more secondhand items in the yard and that’s where the real joy is found, getting that much sought after part from a machine that you need to bring back to life. And whether it’s a new door for a Massey Ferguson 550 or a secondhand front axle for a Fiat 90-90, Conatys have it.

Kiltulla to host oil engine challenge

Kiltulla Vintage Club, based in Galway, is hosting an All-Ireland Engine Challenge on Sunday 24 April on David Mannion’s farm. The aim of the local organisers is to beat the current record of 160 engines working at one time, which was set some years ago at the Innishannon Steam Rally, followed by a similar record attempt at the Mountbellew Vintage Show.

The Kiltulla club is aiming to have 200 vintage oil engines working at one time during the event. Contact Tony Harte (087-2597937) of the organising committee for details.