The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) is recommending contractors quote an average of a 4pc increase in charges this year.
It says the price hike is needed to meet some of the increases in costs of machinery, insurance and labour costs that have been experienced by FCI members, since the beginning of 2020.
FCI said the increasing costs of new machinery for Farm & Forestry Contractors is impacting on the sustainability of many agricultural contracting businesses.
It also said further machinery cost increases in 2021 due to worldwide raw materials and component shortages, induced by the Covid-19 virus, are driving up machinery purchasing and ownership costs for Irish Farm & Forestry Contractors.
Image source: Shane Casey
The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has unveiled its ‘Contracting Charges Guide‘ for 2021.
Revealed in recent days, the association says that it is “satisfied that this averaged price guide is fair and reasonable for both contractors and farmers”.
However, the contractor representative body stresses that it is “only a guide”.
These FCI figures are produced on an annual basis. They are compiled by collating an “average figure for each operation from a panel of FCI contractor members from across Ireland”.
It was highlighted that, because of local differences, the actual guide charge may vary between regions, across soil types, distance travelled, size of contract undertaken, size and type of equipment used as well as the amount of product spread.