Considering a quality second hand material handler?

With machinery prices soaring over the last few years and agricultural commodity prices not rising accordingly, more and more farmers are looking to the Far East for low-cost equipment due to financial constraints.

While these Chinese machines do offer value for money, Dermot Clancy says that the tried and trusted western brands with low hours still offer a certain appeal to many.

Dermot Clancy Plant Sales Ltd is a used agricultural and construction plant dealer located in Knockanure, a few miles outside Listowel, Co Kerry.

He serves a diverse customer base, and he stocks a formidable range of high-quality second-hand machines.

Dermot explains: “We supply all types and sizes of telehandlers and wheel loaders to farmers, as selling machines to farmers for feeding cattle is a big part of our business.”

To understand better the type of customer Dermot deals with he says that they vary greatly as no two farms are the same.

He is very proud of the fact he sells far and wide and gets a lot of repeat customers.

As dairy farms expanded due to the abolishment of quotas in recent times, Dermot noticed more farmers making a switch to telehandlers as first-time buyers.

“Some of our customers would be buying a telehandler/loader for the first time, they would typically be moving from a tractor loader set up so it’s a substantial jump for them in terms of comfort and performance,” he says.

Types of machines selling today

A farmer’s budget is obviously going to be a major factor in determining what they purchase and most machines in Dermot’s yard range from €15k at the lower end of the scale up to around €65k at the upper end.

Apart from finance there are many other considerations when delving deeper into what machines farmers are enquiring about.

He highlights how every farming enterprise and farmyard varies, pointing out that lots of factors come into the mix.

“It depends on size and height of the buildings, whether they use a diet feeder or feed direct to the animals along a feeding barrier with a grab,” says Dermot, adding that his company sell compact loaders, for example the JCB 2CX, or articulated compact loaders for farmers who are tight on space.

Farmers with diet feeders tend to prefer the telescopic articulated machines ie JCB TM320, if they have good room and if, for example, they need to have a passenger in the cab for help on an out yard.

Then, for those where space is compact and passageway height is an issue, but they need extra reach the JCB Loadall, Manitou or similar (boom on the side) is the way to go.

“Where space is very tight in older buildings, we have the JCB 525-60 which is only 6ft wide, it has a lifting capacity of 2.5ton and 6m reach. It’s just ideal to work in small buildings,” says Dermot.

Another popular machine of late he explains is the mini shovel which is only in the region of 3-4ft wide.

This machine, he maintains, replaces the wheelbarrow and pike on the farm. He describes how it is ideal for cleaning out old style cow sheds, pushing in silage and doing all those manual jobs.

At the other end of the scale then with bigger herds and where roof height and yard space aren’t an issue, the traditional articulated loading shovel serves best.

“We sell the bigger articulated loading shovels like the JCB 414, 416S, 434 which the more traditional farmer likes as there is less maintenance, no telescopic booms and all hoses are accessible from the outside,” says Dermot.

Some of these farmers too might be putting in their own grass silage into the pit during the summer harvest so that also comes into the equation as well.

Tillage men also shunting grain around want to move large volumes fast, so they need this type of larger machine also.

So, what are the considerations for first-time buyers?

“The most important thing when a farmer is buying a loading shovel/telehandler is to have measured all the buildings and know what will fit,” says Dermot.

“Farmers must consider a few more things like will they be feeding directly with a grab or will they be buying a diet feeder at some stage in the future.

“Will they want to stack bales with it?

“What brackets have they already got on their implements?

“Will they be travelling to an outside farm; do they need horsepower or speed on the road?

Lighter centre pivot boom machines with flotation tyres travel fields well compared to bigger side boom machines on narrower tyres.”

These are some of the questions that Dermot insists are most common to consider as it will determine which style of material handler suits best.

“Our experience over the last 20 years is the loader is the most important machine in the yard.

“Farmers tell me they would sell the tractor before they would sell their loading shovel.”

Various Attachments

Dermot also supplies a whole range of new attachments to suit various loaders and telehandlers, such as shear grabs, bale slicers, silage pushers, baskets, buckets, pallet forks, silage forks also for the loaders, which is a big requirement these days he says.

These attachments are essential nowadays as labour is so scarce on the farms and the farmer is trying to do everything himself.

“If farmers already have a tractor and are now buying a loading shovel, we can get quick hitch adaptors to pick up their tractor attachments which is a big advantage and saves them a lot of money and is a big plus because they can use the tractor for other work if they need to”.

Dermot says that they like to keep machines as simple as possible when they are advising a farmer.

For example, if they don’t need a telescopic machine, he advises them to buy a standard wheel loader.

Also, when it comes to running cost and maintenance the simpler and more basic the engine with the minimal amount of emission technologies is much less hassle.

Trouble free

“We like to sell basic machines with no AdBlue if possible or without a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) as they are generally trouble free then.

The Tier 3 engines are great or else the smaller hp engines on the Tier 5 machines as there is less to go wrong for farmers as this technology can cause problems down the road and can lead to more expense and down time”.

Another point he mentions is these simpler machines hold their value better over the years on the farm.

The JCB’s, Manitou’s, Hitachi’s etc are well tested and respected brands, parts are readily available, and the mechanics know them very well.

He makes a point of not knocking any brands of material handling equipment and says he has a great rapport with a lot of dealers in the same game around the country and wants to keep it that way.

“We all get on and that’s the way it should be, we help each other if needs be to get parts or technical information so our customers benefit”.

Dermot certainly has a huge amount of knowledge on material handlers and carries a comprehensive range of quality telehandlers and wheel loaders at his premises.

There are some very nice medium-sized excavators for farm work in stock and he can advise what best suits any farming needs as he has a depth of knowledge.

In short