The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has published its Contracting Charge Guide for 2023.

The FCI says that the new guide "continues to provide fair and reasonable guidance" for both farm and forestry contractors, and their clients farmers. However, the association stressed that it is only a guide.

The guide figures are produced on an annual basis and are compiled by collating an average figure for each operation from a panel of FCI contractor members from across Ireland.

The guided charges may very according to regions, soil types, distances travelled, size of contracts, size and type of equipment, and scale of work.

This year's guide reflects "some modest increases" in some charges of up to 5%, while others are virtually unchanged, the FCI said.

Some of the charges, the association added, reflect some of the significant increases in costs of machinery replacement, tyres, lubrication oils, insurance and labour costs that have been experienced by FCI members throughout 2022, with more expected in 2023.

The number of contractor activities covered by the guide has increased to 98, from 94 last year, despite some activities being consolidated to offer greater clarity.

According to FCI, the quoted cost of a new self-propelled silage harvester for a contractor operation has increased by more than €80,000 since 2022. The cost of replacement silage trailers has increased by almost €10,000 in one year.

Meanwhile, interest rates have increased to almost 8% in the past year, a factor that many agricultural contractors had not factored into their 2023 costings.

The FCI also noted that many contractors face fuel cost increases of more than 60% in 2022 compared to 2021. The Carbon Tax increase, due in May, will fully hit contractors, who cannot avail of the rebate that farmers get.

The FCI is encouraging its members to use its new Fuel Costing Index Calculator so they can establish their breakeven charge rates for their services.

Michael Moroney, CEO of the FCI, commented: "Putting time and effort into establishing your operating costs has never been more important.

"FCI advocates developing a clear understanding of the actual costs of the machine operations. While this 2023 guide is helpful to both contractors and farmers in providing a guide to national averages, each contractor must now establish individual baseline costings," Moroney added.

While fuel prices have stabilised at the start of 2023, the cost of AdBlue is continuing to increase, according to the FCI.

The association also says that the availability of skilled operators is a "huge unknown factor".

Moroney said: "The dedicated land-based FCI contractor continues to provide the best, most cost-effective and lowest emission choice for Irish farming and forestry businesses.

"Today's agricultural contractors give their farmer clients affordable access to new technology options with skilled operators in a cost-effective and low-carbon emission way," he added.

Some of the key costs outlined in the new charge guide are as follows (all price shown here include VAT, but the guide also gives prices without VAT).

Baling and bale handling:
Cultivation:
Drilling/sowing:
Seed cleaning and crimping:
Complete cultivation work:
Fertiliser and lime:
Spraying:
Combining and beet:
Hedgecutting:
Silage/willow harvesting:
Slurry and muck spreading:
Forestry: