Skip to main content

Wrap stars in Co. Laois

This month, Noel Dunne shifts his focus to well-known agricultural contractors and mixed farmers in Co. Laois, the Wilson brothers
Pictured knocking out 25 acres of bales on the farm of Brendan Fenlon in Co. Laois is the adapted McHale baler and Orbital wrapper unit successfully run by the Wilson brothers.

Barry and Declan Wilson operate the successful contracting operation, and alongside brothers Colm and Paddy, they all run a tillage and suckler-beef enterprise. Barry and Declan are big fans of McHale machinery, so Noel visited them on the farm of BrendanFenlon in Laois, where the McHale baler and Orbital wrapper were hard at it. Wilsons also cater for the tillage farmer and along with muck spreading, are joined seasonally by a local slurry-spreading, hedge-cutting, and fencing contractor, William Walsh. Both businesses dovetail well to give a full contractor service to local farmers. Barry tells Noel: “We are a family-run business that prides itself in providing contractor services to predominately local farmers and some further afield – a lot are part-time farmers who would depend on our services.“

The fully trailed unit travels well together, and on tight roads the set-up is easy to manoeuvre. Barry makes around 8,000 bales a year with short to medium distances covered from the home base in a variation of field sizes and contours. He explains: “I find the system easy to operate and is labour saving. One person can bale and wrap in one run.”
There are plenty of horses in Barry’s Massey Ferguson 6490 to run the online system.
Barry explains that he can decouple the Orbital wrapper from the baler and send it to a wrapping job quickly to customers that have their own baler. He can continue baling while Declan can cover the other job before returning to finish baling. This way, they are covering more ground and clients more quickly.
Fast and efficient transfer of bale to wrapper is key to the set-up and both machines complement each other. Both machines are four seasons old and are only kept for five seasons before they are changed.
Barry says they ‘like the McHale kit’ and their local dealers, JH Fitzpatrick Ltd in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare gives a great back-up service.
Barry demonstrates how the easy loading of wrap and easy access to daily checks means the Wilsons are up and running quickly.
The internal information and terminal units, plus camera, are easy to follow and are not complicated to use, making operation stress-free for the driver.
The specially adapted off set drawbar system allows for smooth transfer of bales and decoupling is quick and safe. Road transport is smooth and it sits neatly in line behind the baler which makes for easy and safe transportation.
View other machinery articles