Tackling the presidency at full throttle 

When Jennifer started her tenure as FTMTA president in January, her aims for the year were clear: the apprenticeship syllabus needs to be updated; staffing issues in the sector need to be addressed; and the low uptake of grants for investment in the industry must be investigated. To back up these aims, Jennifer can refer to the landmark Economic Report on the Value of the Farm Machinery Industry in Ireland, prepared by Ifac on behalf of the FTMTA. For the first time ever, it put a real value on the industry, showcasing its strengths, but also highlighting areas in need of improvement.

Representing everyone

On a personal level, Jennifer says she wants to be perceived as an open and approachable president. She wants FTMTA members to feel that they can contact her with any issues in relation to the industry, be that on lobbying the government, actions related to EU regulations, or other tasks of importance to members. “Openness, transparency, and approachability are what I want to bring to the role; to let people know that we are representing everybody in the industry,” Jennifer says. Jennifer’s road to the presidency of the FTMTA has taken her on an interesting journey. After leaving school, she studied commerce at University College Cork, but halfway through, she decided it wasn’t for her and instead pursued a degree in textile and fabric design at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Receiving her degree around the time of the economic crash, there were no jobs in fabric design and Jennifer ended up working for Electric Ireland for a few years while returning to commerce and accountancy through evening studies. Eventually, in 2015, this led Jennifer to take up a position in the family business – Ryall’s Farm & Industrial Equipment – established in 1981 by her parents, Robert and Sylvia Ryall. The business, based in Watergrasshill, Co. Cork, provides a wide range of quality farm machinery and industrial equipment as well as service and parts supply.
“When I first came to work here, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a long-term thing,” says Jennifer. “Having four people from the same family in the same company, you’re like, is this going to work? But it has worked out really well, and I suppose the main thing is I enjoy coming to work every day,” says Jennifer. “It’s challenging, but it’s rewarding.”
What started with her helping with the financial or ‘paper’ side of the business developed to Jennifer taking up the role of financial controller, while her brother, Trevor, is the managing director. Dad, Robert, is still involved on the service side but, sadly, her mother, Sylvia, passed away 18 months ago.

Involvement in FTMTA

Since its inception, the Ryall family business has been a member of the FTMTA, and Jennifer says she was curious to find out more about the association. “We were paying a fee every year, so I wanted to know what the FTMTA actually does,” she says. What better way to understand the nuts and bolts of an organisation than by getting involved? And that is exactly what Jennifer did, becoming an FTMTA council member five years ago, which she greatly enjoyed. When she was nominated to the role of vice-president in 2025, she wholeheartedly embraced it. She worked in association with then president, Maurice Kelly, and got a good insight into what the presidency itself would encompass.
The launch of the FTMTA-Ifac economic report in late 2025 set Jennifer up for a busy start to her tenure as she led a delegation to meet with Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, early in the new year, which proved ‘very productive’, she says. “We went in there with a few goals, and the minister listened. When we mentioned that the curriculum for apprenticeships hadn’t been updated in 25 years, he really felt that’s something that has to be acted upon urgently.” On the back of this meeting, the FTMTA is now working with further education and training (FET) agency, Solas, to bring about this much-needed update.
“We also highlighted the increased costs to the sector with, for example, paid sick-days and auto-enrolment having come in, and how these costs are all filtered down to the employers. We explored how local governments can help us with this.”

Short- and long-term goals

While there are more meetings with the minister coming up, Jennifer says it’s been a productive start to the year and she’s positive there will be concrete outcomes. The economic report, she says, has given great recognition to the sector and has really helped to promote the FTMTA. “Having those doors open so that people know if there’s anything regarding machinery development or training of new technicians, that we [FTMTA] are the people that they should be talking to. We can tell them what’s needed.”
In the long-term, the report will also help guide the future of the industry. She explains: "Nothing in the government happens fast, so when it comes to changing, for example, grants or what needs to be worked on in the industry, that will happen over time.”
Jennifer is aware that while the report shows some 67 per cent of FTMTA members plan to invest in their business, only 6 per cent are planning to avail of grants. She says the FTMTA needs to figure out why this is.
“When two-thirds of our members are planning to invest, why are they not availing of grants? Is it because the process is too onerous or are the right sorts of grants not available? We need to liaise with the government and figure this out.”

A more technical industry

There is a dual aspect to Jennifer’s focus on apprenticeships. The training curriculum needs to be updated, but this, she says, is particularly important as the sector is now much more technical compared to 25 years ago. “When technicians go out now, it’s all about diagnostics. They’re plugging computers into the machines, they have GPS units, Isobus going on the sprayers, tractors have self-drive – everything is so advanced. It’s very different from 10 years ago, never mind 20 years ago, and I think that’s only going to develop further,” Jennifer says.
This update in technology also impacts safety in the industry, which makes it all the more important for machinery operators to be up to date. One of the biggest hurdles in the industry, Jennifer says, is the lack of both apprentice and qualified agricultural technicians, with technicians being brought in from abroad to pick up the shortfall. Updating training and recruiting apprentices is all the more important because of this. “It’s a great industry to be involved in and it’s a well-paid job once you’re qualified, so promoting the industry and apprenticeship options will be one of my main aims for the year. There is a new syllabus there, and we’re just trying to put a push on this and get it rolled out and fit for purpose.”

First female president

Jennifer is the first female president of the FTMTA but highlights that females have been prominent in farm machinery businesses, in various capacities, for years. Indeed, some of the country’s most successful farm machinery companies are headed up by women and/or co-founded by them. However, it is a male-dominant industry – particularly on the ground – and the ‘girl in the office’ mindset still exists within it at times, Jennifer says. That being the case, Jennifer understands that it is important to highlight this first-female milestone, and she hopes she’s the first of many female presidents to come. “I hope that in a couple of years, it will just be seen as the norm. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, you’re just a person.”