Agriculture has always been a passion of Stephen Eustace having grown up on the family sheep farm. Machinery too became a passion of Stephen’s from a young age which he later turned into a business following years of hard work and graft.
Based in Tullow, Co Carlow Stephen now offers a wide range of agricultural contracting services.
“It originally started in 2005 when I set off topping during the school holidays with the tractor and topper we had on the farm at the time. It was an International 855 XL and 8ft topper. I bought a secondhand Welger RP 200 baler the following year,” Stephen recalls. This was later followed by a Tanco wrapper and a Guttler GreenMaster in order to expand the services offered. After school, Stephen went on to study tillage and crop management in Kildalton.
Stephen bought his first Claas Lexion 440 combine in 2021 followed by his second in 2024.
Alongside the contracting business Stephen contract farms roughly 400ac as part of stubble-to-stubble agreements and leases in the region of 400ac to grow his own crops.
Stephen offers practically all farm machinery-related services with the exception of slurry, pit silage and lime spreading. “I’m lucky that the majority of work is within a 10-mile radius of the yard, 60% of which is tillage while the remainder is grassland work for livestock customers,” he says.
“We sow in the region of 1,500ac annually, roughly half of which is stubble to stubble meaning we carry out all agronomy and machine-related work right through from spraying to harvest and baling.”
Tractors
Stephen currently runs a mixed fleet of tractors. This includes a Deutz Agrotron 6230 Warrior TTV, a Case IH Puma 220, Case IH Puma 150, a Massey Ferguson 7S.210, a Valtra T183 and a Lamborghini R6 150.7.
Stephen runs two five-furrow Kverneland ploughs.
“The first tractor I bought was the 2006 Lamborghini R6 150.7. I bought it secondhand in 2010, the year I finished up college,” he says. “It had under 2,000 hours and was fitted with a front loader. It cost me €29,000, plus VAT. It’s still mainly used for spraying or raking with over 18,000 hours now on the clock.
“You could say it was from here we became fond of the same Deutz Fahr and Lamborghini (SDF) brand. The first new tractor I bought was a Deutz Fahr 6160 C Shift in 2015. I’ve always got great service from the Lamborghini and Deutz tractors. On a value-for-money basis, as well as comfort and fuel economy they are hard beaten.
“In 2018, our local dealer, Gordon Hegarty & Sons, switched from Deutz Fahr to Massey Ferguson. This led us on to buying the Massey Ferguson 7S.210 last year, which to be fair is a great tractor with a top class dealer backup. The Case IH Pumas were both bought secondhand and hard to fault, although maybe a little harder on diesel. They’re the cheapest tractor in the yard to service and maintain in fairness.
“I can eventually see just two tractor brands in the yard to streamline things. Coming up through the years, when I was trying to expand the business and services offered, value was probably the biggest influence when buying a tractor or machine,” he says.
As a rule of thumb, balers are upgraded at bale counts of 30,000 to 40,000.
“Now that we are busier and probably more reliant on machines, our policy has changed to try and buy new where possible and run it until its warranty is out or finance is paid. With the price of parts, labour and finance now, going down the new route lends itself to much more fixed running costs. The 6230 TTV was the first tractor with a CVT transmission I bought and honestly, I wouldn’t go back to a powershift. No matter the job, you always have the right speed and torque.
“Although the local dealers take care of maintenance on products under warranty, we would do a lot of maintenance on the older machines ourselves and call upon a local mechanic if needs be,” Stephen outlines.
Machinery
“We run two Kverneland five-furrow ploughs. They’re a great plough with great resale values. I started out with a 3m one pass before moving to a 4m Horsch Pronto disc drill. In 2023, I took a leap and bought a 6m Kverneland U-drill. Hands down, it has been one of the better machines bought yet both for performance and output,” Stephen says.
The fleet currently includes a Case IH Puma 220, 150, a Deutz Fahr Arotron 6230, a Lamborghini R6150.7 and a Massey Ferguson 7S.210.
“Going against the norm, I moved away from a grain and fertiliser drill to just grain only. The concept of a split hopper for grain and fertiliser is good but the practicality isn’t. Like a fertiliser spreader, it needs to be washed down after use to avoid corrosion, but this isn’t really practical considering the seed hopper is the last place you want water reaching or it will cause problems of its own.
“We’ve pretty much run all makes of disc harrows and rollers. The He-Va paddle roller we run at the moment is a very well-designed roller,” Stephen says.
“In 2021, I bought the first combine, a Claas Lexion 440 followed by a second machine, a Lexion 420, in 2024. Straw baling has become a popular service too. We bale in excess of 15,000 bales and run a Massey Ferguson 2170 and Krone Big Pack 1290. We also run two McHale Fusion balers, a Fusion 3 and a Fusion 4. Typically, we try to change these at 30,000-40,000 bales.”
Stephen runs Kverneland mowers, a Kverneland rake and a Kverneland tedder.
Stephen also runs a Bredal F10 fertiliser spreader offering full GPS section control. This is a service that he said has become popular amongst dairy farmers in recent years. During the typically quieter autumn and winter months is when the two McConnel 6500T hedge cutters are out working. Drilling, spraying and working a combine are probably my favourite jobs. I enjoy growing and working with crops,” says Stephen.
Staff and challenges ahead
“I’m lucky in the sense that I’ve never had issues in getting staff. At the moment I have two lads full-time. Having good staff that know the work and customers makes everyone’s life that much easier. For the past number of years, I’ve taken on a student in February for 12 weeks followed by another in July until the autumn sowing is done. During the busy harvest period there are three self-employed lads we can call upon,” Stephen says.
Stephen runs a Krone Big Pack 1290 and Massey Ferguson 2170.
“However, as an industry staff is a real issue going forward. Being able to offer year-round employment does help. I’m lucky that my family does be around to help out and make sure everyone’s fed during the busy times. I’m lucky my parents and my wife Barbara always help out when needs be too.”
“The biggest challenge out there at the moment for my business is the cost of machinery, spares and finance. It’s got out of hand,” Stephen says. “To think I bought a four-year-old 150hp tractor with 2,000 hours and a front loader in 2010 for €29,000 plus VAT is mad. Today’s equivalent wouldn’t stop at double that figure.
“It’s critical to keep on top of machinery costs and change machines at the right times otherwise it’s very easy to fall behind in the sense that the cost of replacement becomes nearly unaffordable. I can’t see how anyone with no skin in the game could get a contracting business up and going without serious levels of debt in today’s economy and if they did, it would be a struggle to make ends meet.
The Deutz Fahr Agrotron 6230 TTV is Stephens go-to tractor.
“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword and although I don’t like saying it, the high cost of machinery nowadays and technology available has indirectly left contractors busier. For example, some farmers may not find it justifiable to buy a GPS section control fertiliser spreader but want to avail of the benefits of such technology, opening a door for the contractor.
“Generally speaking, farms have got bigger and aside from lack of time or resources it may make better financial sense to contract out jobs that wouldn’t have been in the past. This allows the farmer to focus on what makes them money while providing the local contractor with work to justify having the latest machinery and technology.”
The Kverneland 6m U-drill sows in the region of 1,500 acres annually.
“I’m lucky to have all my work within a 10-mile radius and have great loyal customers. The plan for the future is to keeping doing what we are doing now and try and maintain a modern fleet of machinery. With tightening margins, managing input and running costs better will only become more important. For example, I wouldn’t rule out moving from two five-furrow ploughs to one larger plough in the future if it proved a better use of resources. This was some of the thinking around the move to a larger drill. It’s important to move with the times.
“Offering farmers an efficient service and value for money is key, Stephen outlined.”
Best machine
“My first tractor, the Lamborghini R6 150.7. Even with 18,000 hours on the clock it’s still used for spraying and raking. It’s given very little bother since arriving into the yard.
“The Kverneland 6m U-drill was a great buy and one of the best machines in the yard. It is a serious tool to get through ground and does great work.”
Worst machine
“Luckily, I haven’t had too many bad machines over the years, but the worst was a secondhand Claas Variant 280 belt baler. It was a great baler to take in crop but the netter gave untold trouble. It would throw bales out any way!”
During the winter the lads are kept busy cutting hedges with the two McConnel PA 6500T hedge cutters.
Agriculture has always been a passion of Stephen Eustace having grown up on the family sheep farm. Machinery too became a passion of Stephen’s from a young age which he later turned into a business following years of hard work and graft.
Based in Tullow, Co Carlow Stephen now offers a wide range of agricultural contracting services.
“It originally started in 2005 when I set off topping during the school holidays with the tractor and topper we had on the farm at the time. It was an International 855 XL and 8ft topper. I bought a secondhand Welger RP 200 baler the following year,” Stephen recalls. This was later followed by a Tanco wrapper and a Guttler GreenMaster in order to expand the services offered. After school, Stephen went on to study tillage and crop management in Kildalton.
Stephen bought his first Claas Lexion 440 combine in 2021 followed by his second in 2024.
Alongside the contracting business Stephen contract farms roughly 400ac as part of stubble-to-stubble agreements and leases in the region of 400ac to grow his own crops.
Stephen offers practically all farm machinery-related services with the exception of slurry, pit silage and lime spreading. “I’m lucky that the majority of work is within a 10-mile radius of the yard, 60% of which is tillage while the remainder is grassland work for livestock customers,” he says.
“We sow in the region of 1,500ac annually, roughly half of which is stubble to stubble meaning we carry out all agronomy and machine-related work right through from spraying to harvest and baling.”
Tractors
Stephen currently runs a mixed fleet of tractors. This includes a Deutz Agrotron 6230 Warrior TTV, a Case IH Puma 220, Case IH Puma 150, a Massey Ferguson 7S.210, a Valtra T183 and a Lamborghini R6 150.7.
Stephen runs two five-furrow Kverneland ploughs.
“The first tractor I bought was the 2006 Lamborghini R6 150.7. I bought it secondhand in 2010, the year I finished up college,” he says. “It had under 2,000 hours and was fitted with a front loader. It cost me €29,000, plus VAT. It’s still mainly used for spraying or raking with over 18,000 hours now on the clock.
“You could say it was from here we became fond of the same Deutz Fahr and Lamborghini (SDF) brand. The first new tractor I bought was a Deutz Fahr 6160 C Shift in 2015. I’ve always got great service from the Lamborghini and Deutz tractors. On a value-for-money basis, as well as comfort and fuel economy they are hard beaten.
“In 2018, our local dealer, Gordon Hegarty & Sons, switched from Deutz Fahr to Massey Ferguson. This led us on to buying the Massey Ferguson 7S.210 last year, which to be fair is a great tractor with a top class dealer backup. The Case IH Pumas were both bought secondhand and hard to fault, although maybe a little harder on diesel. They’re the cheapest tractor in the yard to service and maintain in fairness.
“I can eventually see just two tractor brands in the yard to streamline things. Coming up through the years, when I was trying to expand the business and services offered, value was probably the biggest influence when buying a tractor or machine,” he says.
As a rule of thumb, balers are upgraded at bale counts of 30,000 to 40,000.
“Now that we are busier and probably more reliant on machines, our policy has changed to try and buy new where possible and run it until its warranty is out or finance is paid. With the price of parts, labour and finance now, going down the new route lends itself to much more fixed running costs. The 6230 TTV was the first tractor with a CVT transmission I bought and honestly, I wouldn’t go back to a powershift. No matter the job, you always have the right speed and torque.
“Although the local dealers take care of maintenance on products under warranty, we would do a lot of maintenance on the older machines ourselves and call upon a local mechanic if needs be,” Stephen outlines.
Machinery
“We run two Kverneland five-furrow ploughs. They’re a great plough with great resale values. I started out with a 3m one pass before moving to a 4m Horsch Pronto disc drill. In 2023, I took a leap and bought a 6m Kverneland U-drill. Hands down, it has been one of the better machines bought yet both for performance and output,” Stephen says.
The fleet currently includes a Case IH Puma 220, 150, a Deutz Fahr Arotron 6230, a Lamborghini R6150.7 and a Massey Ferguson 7S.210.
“Going against the norm, I moved away from a grain and fertiliser drill to just grain only. The concept of a split hopper for grain and fertiliser is good but the practicality isn’t. Like a fertiliser spreader, it needs to be washed down after use to avoid corrosion, but this isn’t really practical considering the seed hopper is the last place you want water reaching or it will cause problems of its own.
“We’ve pretty much run all makes of disc harrows and rollers. The He-Va paddle roller we run at the moment is a very well-designed roller,” Stephen says.
“In 2021, I bought the first combine, a Claas Lexion 440 followed by a second machine, a Lexion 420, in 2024. Straw baling has become a popular service too. We bale in excess of 15,000 bales and run a Massey Ferguson 2170 and Krone Big Pack 1290. We also run two McHale Fusion balers, a Fusion 3 and a Fusion 4. Typically, we try to change these at 30,000-40,000 bales.”
Stephen runs Kverneland mowers, a Kverneland rake and a Kverneland tedder.
Stephen also runs a Bredal F10 fertiliser spreader offering full GPS section control. This is a service that he said has become popular amongst dairy farmers in recent years. During the typically quieter autumn and winter months is when the two McConnel 6500T hedge cutters are out working. Drilling, spraying and working a combine are probably my favourite jobs. I enjoy growing and working with crops,” says Stephen.
Staff and challenges ahead
“I’m lucky in the sense that I’ve never had issues in getting staff. At the moment I have two lads full-time. Having good staff that know the work and customers makes everyone’s life that much easier. For the past number of years, I’ve taken on a student in February for 12 weeks followed by another in July until the autumn sowing is done. During the busy harvest period there are three self-employed lads we can call upon,” Stephen says.
Stephen runs a Krone Big Pack 1290 and Massey Ferguson 2170.
“However, as an industry staff is a real issue going forward. Being able to offer year-round employment does help. I’m lucky that my family does be around to help out and make sure everyone’s fed during the busy times. I’m lucky my parents and my wife Barbara always help out when needs be too.”
“The biggest challenge out there at the moment for my business is the cost of machinery, spares and finance. It’s got out of hand,” Stephen says. “To think I bought a four-year-old 150hp tractor with 2,000 hours and a front loader in 2010 for €29,000 plus VAT is mad. Today’s equivalent wouldn’t stop at double that figure.
“It’s critical to keep on top of machinery costs and change machines at the right times otherwise it’s very easy to fall behind in the sense that the cost of replacement becomes nearly unaffordable. I can’t see how anyone with no skin in the game could get a contracting business up and going without serious levels of debt in today’s economy and if they did, it would be a struggle to make ends meet.
The Deutz Fahr Agrotron 6230 TTV is Stephens go-to tractor.
“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword and although I don’t like saying it, the high cost of machinery nowadays and technology available has indirectly left contractors busier. For example, some farmers may not find it justifiable to buy a GPS section control fertiliser spreader but want to avail of the benefits of such technology, opening a door for the contractor.
“Generally speaking, farms have got bigger and aside from lack of time or resources it may make better financial sense to contract out jobs that wouldn’t have been in the past. This allows the farmer to focus on what makes them money while providing the local contractor with work to justify having the latest machinery and technology.”
The Kverneland 6m U-drill sows in the region of 1,500 acres annually.
“I’m lucky to have all my work within a 10-mile radius and have great loyal customers. The plan for the future is to keeping doing what we are doing now and try and maintain a modern fleet of machinery. With tightening margins, managing input and running costs better will only become more important. For example, I wouldn’t rule out moving from two five-furrow ploughs to one larger plough in the future if it proved a better use of resources. This was some of the thinking around the move to a larger drill. It’s important to move with the times.
“Offering farmers an efficient service and value for money is key, Stephen outlined.”
Best machine
“My first tractor, the Lamborghini R6 150.7. Even with 18,000 hours on the clock it’s still used for spraying and raking. It’s given very little bother since arriving into the yard.
“The Kverneland 6m U-drill was a great buy and one of the best machines in the yard. It is a serious tool to get through ground and does great work.”
Worst machine
“Luckily, I haven’t had too many bad machines over the years, but the worst was a secondhand Claas Variant 280 belt baler. It was a great baler to take in crop but the netter gave untold trouble. It would throw bales out any way!”
During the winter the lads are kept busy cutting hedges with the two McConnel PA 6500T hedge cutters.
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