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Eoin Ryan and his Fendt
Eoin Ryan, contractor and farm manager, Ireland - Fendt 412, 516 Vario

Eoin Ryan, contractor and farm manager, Ireland - Fendt 412, 516 Vario

There are a number of reasons I am still driving a Fendt 12 years on.
Eoin Ryan and his Fendt
There are a number of reasons I am still driving a Fendt 12 years on.
Eoin Ryan, contractor and farm manager, Ireland - Fendt 412, 516 Vario
There are a number of reasons I am still driving a Fendt 12 years on.
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Farming between tourists - Eoin Ryans farm is a rarity in his region

The “Ring of Kerry” is a popular tourist route and peninsula that’s juts out into the Atlantic Ocean in the Southwest of Ireland. Tourism is the main economic activity in the region and farming is generally small scale and mostly done on a part time basis. The land could be described as marginal or average with livestock production based on grass as the main feed for sheep, beef and a small number of dairy enterprises. Tractors in the region tend to be older 2nd hand units that have migrated from more prosperous farming regions in Ireland when traded by the first owner. So the sight of a new Fendt 516 Profi Plus on these roads belonging to farmer and contractor Eoin Ryan is not the norm.
516 Vario mowing at the Ring of Kerry

He can rely on his Fendt tractors

Eoin runs a small contracting business in conjunction with work on the home farm where he has a 100 cow beef suckler herd. Eoin purchased his first Fendt a 412 Vario in 2010 and in May 2022 took delivery of his 4th Fendt, a 516 Profi Plus Gen 3. According to Eoin “there are a number of reasons I am still driving a Fendt 12 years on. The reliability, fuel efficiency, after sales service, high resale value and that Fendt’s are overall well manufactured and easy to operate tractor”.

Eoin clocks up on average 1800 hours per year and comments that “as my 516 is my sole tractor, I simply cannot afford downtime, because of my location on the Atlantic seaboard we have a wetter than average climate, this makes the necessity to get through work when the sun is shining even greater. The reliability of the Fendt is a must for me as a contractor, a regular servicing program carried out by my dealer Atkins Farm Machinery keeps everything running right”.

For Eoin, the 516 Vario offers the perfect features

In terms of fuel efficiency, Eoin averages 10 litres per hour across a full range of work throughout the year. The main duties that the 516 carries out are running a front & rear mower combination, a combi variable chamber baler and a 2750 gallon (10,500 litre) slurry tanker. According to Eoin these implements are not small or easy to run from a fuel economy perspective when you factor the undulating terrain and sometimes challenging field conditions.

Despite work been carried out solely in grassland applications, Eoin uses the full functionality of his Fendt 516 and comments that “spending long hours and having to maintain a high standard of work, the functionality and ease of operation of the 516 is a big with getting through work. Also climate control, the Vario transmission, Varioguide, sequence programming, ISOBUS, section control, and the field mapping programme all make operating at a high standard easier”.

516 Vario mowing near a creek

Less stress and more time for his beloved ones

Eoin always has an eye to the future and is always looking at ways to become more efficient and productive despite the challenges of his location. “Overall contracting and farming are not getting any easier with higher price of inputs, variations in weather and the constant need to provide a reliable and efficient service at good value, having a Fendt 516 takes a lot of the stress out of the job and allows me enjoy family time and the stunning landscape here in the Ring of Kerry”.

Farming at the "Ring of Kerry"

516 Vario mowing at the Ring of Kerry
Eoin Ryans Farm
516 Vario mowing in front of a forest
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