“I want to recognise the importance of the role that your members [of the machinery industry] play in contributing to the wider agricultural and food production system, and particularly in enabling the implementation of key policy commitments for the land use and the agriculture sector,” said Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, as he opened the recent Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) conference.

The FTMTA conference, ‘Navigating the Evolving Agricultural Machinery Landscape’, took place at the Heritage Hotel, Killenard, Co Laois.

Over 150 people from the machinery industry attended, taking in tips and advice for running a machinery business, discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the industry, and offering marketing advice.

“The agri food sector always has been, and will continue to be, our largest indigenous sector – and it plays a massively important role throughout our national economy – and the machinery sector is an integral part of that really important industry,” the minister said.

“Your members have contributed very significantly to Ireland meeting our commitments in key policy areas.

“For example, your response has been phenomenal in relation to supporting farmers in the need to deliver and scale up through the provision of low-emissions slurry spreading technology across the country, where we’ve seen a massively rapid adoption, which continues at pace today,” he added.

Ag mechanics

The removal of both agricultural mechanics and HGV mechanics from the State’s Ineligible List of Occupations (ILO) has been welcomed by the FTMTA.

Over the past 18 months, the association said it has been working hard to address the current shortfall of suitably qualified technicians in the industry.

“We took a multi-faceted approach to this issue, having engaged with the various training bodies and within the industry itself to try and raise our industry’s profile, while also drawing attention to the opportunities that a career as an agricultural technician can yield,” said Michael Farrelly, the Association’s executive director.

“We will continue to engage with the Government, Solas, education bodies and industry partners to raise awareness about the opportunities available within our industry and to promote the career paths that are open to qualified agricultural mechanics,” he told attendees at the Laois conference.

“The key takeaway from the conference was that success is all about the small, incremental changes that we can make to our business every day.

“Our speakers today offered practical advice and insights that can help us to add value to our operations,” said Karol Duigenan, president of the FTMTA & regional sales manager, Claas, UK.