The late Pat White, from Drangan, Tipperary, who died recently after a short illness, started his agricultural contracting operations from a small farm at Tullicussane in 1963.

His first tractor was a David Brown 25D and his first job was spreading fertiliser for local farmers where the spreader was loaded with shovels.

He followed that year with the purchase of a mower, then added a Jones baler to his enterprise, from Barlo’s Garage in Clonmel.

Pat bought a silage harvester in the following years and his first precision chop harvester was a trailed Mengele machine in the early 1970s. This was followed by his first self-propelled harvester, also from the German Mengele brand.

Machines were less complex but also reliable back then. Pat had to develop the skills to keep them moving, skills along with a passion for operating farm machinery that he has passed on to the next generation.

Through constant investment in new machines, Pat went on to develop the agricultural contracting business that is now Slievenamon Agricultural Services (SAS), one of Ireland’s better-recognised agricultural contracting businesses run by three of his four sons, Richard, John and Martin.

Pat White’s legacy is all too familiar in the fields and on the roads of south Tipperary. The huge attendance at his wake and his funeral provided a true appreciation of his hard work. His dedication was to provide a lasting agricultural contracting service that is truly recognised within the farming community. To his wife Eileen, daughter Elaine and sons Richard, Padraig, John and Martin, we extend our sympathy for your huge loss.