Husband and wife team, Oliver and Karen McDonald, developed their pioneering comparison site, Farm Compare, to simplify farmers’ buying experience.
Through the online portal, farmers can search and compare agricultural products quickly without having to consult different sources and sites.
The duo launched their family-run business in County Armagh in Northern Ireland in 2019 and now support a network of thousands of customers, north and south of the border.
They have recently expanded into the rest of the UK in response to a “rising” number of enquiries.
Farm Compare
Oliver McDonald, the company’s co-founder, told That’s Farming:
“We all know the many benefits of comparison shopping—more choice, useful customer reviews, you don’t miss out on discounts, plus it is convenient.”
“All the information you need is in one place. Now every bit of this convenience is being brought to farmers through farmcompare.com.”
“We are not about price comparison. Buying agricultural equipment has not been straightforward for farmers. I know this first-hand.”
He added that the agricultural industry is progressive and innovative. There is “so much choice”, and information you get can be “incomplete, vague and confusing —plus there is so much of it”.
“Farm Compare simplifies the buying experience by providing everything farmers need to know on one website. Simply search what you are looking for, compare the options, and we connect you with the sellers.”
Expand options
Farm Compare is working with local, national, and international manufacturers to expand options that farmers can choose from.
They desire to “meet every farming need”, be it eco-friendly agricultural machinery, farm tech, or the farming equipment basics.
Karen McDonald, company co-founder, added:
“It is important that farmers get what is right for them and their farm. That is why we host the manufacturers’ entire range”.
This month, the team will return to the National Ploughing Championship alongside one of their customers, Bracken Enterprise, who they exhibited alongside at the event’s Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena in 2019.
Bracken Enterprise manufactures a trailer range which offers the unique design of their low dimensions – with just 21in separating the trailer floor from ground level.
Bracken will showcase the latest addition to their trailer range at the show at Block 3, Row 10, Stand 174.
Still a very young company, Farm Compare has already taken Ireland by storm, helping over 165,000 farmers to source everything from milking parlours, to bale handlers to farm tech.
The co-founders continued: “The company is working on something very exciting now.”
“We look forward to chatting with farmers at the show to see how this can add more value for them. Come visit us at Block 3, Row 10, Stand 174.”
Farm Compare is proudly run by farmers for farmers. The founders say it is “all about making information transparent, and traders and manufacturers easy to reach”.
“This is saving the farmer time, stress and hassle; and for time-poor farmers, that is something we are proud to be a part of,” Oliver concluded.
Other machinery news on That’s Farming:
‘We make 10,000 silage bales, 3,000 hay bales and about 2,000 straw bales’
