The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) is run by a small, hard-working National Executive Council of full-time contractors working together to provide guidance to the Association's Managing Director. FCI Established in 2012, and each member of the National Executive Council has already been elected as a regional chairperson and/or regional secretary across eight regions or has been co-opted at an Annual General Meeting. The FCI has an annual general meeting each year and registered with the Irish Companies Office as a Limited by Guarantee Company.
About FCI
About the Contracting Sector
The Agricultural & Forestry Contractor sector in Ireland now has an annual turnover that exceeds €1 billion, making it the biggest, most valuable and important service sector to Ireland’s agricultural and food industry.
According to our European representative body CEETAR, there are about 150,000 agricultural, rural and/or forestry contractors existing within the territory of the European Union.
From this CEETTAR estimates that there are 600,000 people directly employed in the sector (including managing directors and self-employed workers) at community level due to the fact that the sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The value of the Irish Agricultural Contracting sector has now exceeded the €1 billion mark, for the first time ever, based on the latest data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) 2024 report.
This report showed that Irish farmers increased their spending on Agricultural Contractor services (Machinery Hire) from €7,340 in 2023 to €7,928 in 2024, a modest 3.92% increase in cost to farmers, at a time of continuing inflation in the agricultural machinery input sector.
Agricultural and Forestry contractors are continuously embracing change and implementing new technologies. According to a CEETAR study, the sector invests almost 6 billion Euros per year.
By continuously upgrading to modern, fuel-efficient, and lower-emission machinery, contractors are leading climate action on the ground. Their investment ensures that Irish farms and forests benefit from the most advanced, environmentally friendly technology available.
Agricultural & Forestry Contractors have the skills, machinery and expertise to provide timely and high quality services to farm and forest owners. Fine-tuned techniques, pro-active planning and skilled labour make it possible to achieve the highest quality results quickly while keeping costs under control.
FCI published their 2025 Contractor Charges guide with some charges up by a maximum of 5% and others virtually unchanged showing contractors commitment to providing cost effective services.
Agricultural and Forestry Contractors provide cutting-edge services at attractive rates. This removes the need for farmers to invest in their own machinery. It’s also more time-effective as contractors have the most up to date machinery and skills. It allows farmers to devote their resources into expanding their business and devote their time into managing it, making Irish farms more efficient.
To meet the requirements of modern food production, contractors buy the equivalent of a quarter of European production of agricultural machinery annually. By building a fleet of the latest high-tech machinery contractors provide better compliance with increasing environmental constraints and increased efficiency in the production of food.
Meet our team
John Hughes
National Chair
Ann Gleeson
Managing Director
Richie White
National Secretary
Norman Egar
National Vice Chair
Peter Farelly
Europea Delegate
Padraig Noonan
Assistant Manager
Damien Brophy
Forestry Chair
Martin Fleming
Honorary Treasurer
Liam Cunningham
Communications Officer