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The father and son partnership rewriting the rule book on how to make tillage pay
On 600 acres outside Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Noel and Gavin Delany are proving that smart planning, diversification and a clear succession strategy can turn uncertainty into opportunity.
From pre-selling fodder beet and dealing directly with merchants, to running a thriving contracting business, the Parsonshill Partnership is building a resilient blueprint for the future of Irish tillage.
This article features in our Irish Farm Report 2026.
Discover more insights like this from Ifac's eighth annual survey capturing the experiences, concerns, and ambitions of farm families across Ireland – Download Now!
Diversification and planning are key to these two forward-looking tillage farmers
On a tillage farm just outside Fethard in Tipperary, a partnership between Noel Delany and his son, Gavin, have come up with a blueprint for navigating the peaks and troughs of the tillage sector.
Back in 2015, then 20-year-old Gavin finished agricultural college and became a vital cog in the operation. But according to Noel, he wanted to encourage him to get involved and, importantly, stay involved. A registered farm partnership was discussed with Cillian Denn in ifac and put in place a year later.
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A Partnership Built for the Future
“It made life simpler and spread the load between us, but it also set out a clear pathway for Gavin to take over the farm when I eventually decide to retire. Both of us are very big on planning. Tillage returns are not good at the moment, but we have a few different strategies in place to help us thrive. For example, dealing directly with merchants on cereal crops has taken some of the hedging uncertainty out of the equation.”
“Another strategy is that we grow fodder crops of which a proportion are sold in advance. Growing fodder beet has been another great decision, giving us an income over a fallow period of the year. The fodder beet is pre-sold as much as possible, and we already know who we’ll be selling to next year, so there’s much less risk than with grain”.
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Smarter Machinery, Stronger Margins
“We also believe in diversification, so we also operate a contracting business, starting back in 2018/19, to help us make the most of our local economy. The critical part of the equation puzzle is controlling our machinery costs. They’re astronomical at the moment, but we buy high-quality secondhand machinery, sourced from around Europe. Also, one of our three full-time team members is very mechanically minded, so the machinery is in almost constant use. Today, around 35% of our income comes from contracting.”
“Another element of diversification relates to the crops we grow. Maize, fodder beet, winter and spring barley and winter rye help us to hedge our bets. Rye is a bit of a bold choice, but we’ve got 75 acres of winter rye, generating around five ton per acres, which is a very healthy yield at a lower cost of production over wheat.”
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Succession Strategy in Action
At the moment, the partnership operates as a profit share, and Noel says that a limited company was recently set up within the partnership, adding his wife to the equation. “We haven’t looked at land or asset transfer yet, but this is the obvious next stage in a succession strategy that will pave the way for Gavin running the show on his own in the future.”
Asked how confident he feels about the tillage and contracting sectors; Noel is adamant that the glass is more than half full. “The whole idea of working with the dairy sector and producing food locally is a model that works, and I’d love to see more of it.”
“I know a lot of concentrates for the livestock sector is imported (soya etc.) and this far from ideal for us farmers in the tillage sector. I believe that the future for the tillage sector involves producing more crops locally - and consuming them locally. It’s a model where everyone wins, including the environment!”
Read the Parsonshill Partnership's full story in ifac’s Farm Report 2026.
This article features in our Irish Farm Report 2026.
Discover more insights like this from Ifac's eighth annual survey capturing the experiences, concerns, and ambitions of farm families across Ireland – Download Now!
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