Going hourly rate for 150 hp tractor

Bullring

Member
Location
Cornwall
I worked on the following on my 12 year old 130hp one the other day

£10 per hour depreciation or cost to change so to speak
Average 10l fuel per hour at 1.10/l = £11
£15/hr driver
Tyres £1/ hour
Oil and servicing 50p/ hr
Insurance £50p/hr

Total £38.per hour

Add 10% for profit and your nearly at around £42.
 
Location
Devon
I worked on the following on my 12 year old 130hp one the other day

£10 per hour depreciation or cost to change so to speak
Average 10l fuel per hour at 1.10/l = £11
£15/hr driver
Tyres £1/ hour
Oil and servicing 50p/ hr
Insurance £50p/hr

Total £38.per hour

Add 10% for profit and your nearly at around £42.
How much for a decent size silage trailer behind it?

I do not think i have ever seen so many new top of the range silage trailers on the road as i have seen in the last month! for every old trailer you see 5 brand spanking new ones!

Must be some serious money in this contracting job! brand new top of the range SP foragers as well for some local contractors!
 

redsloe

Member
Location
Cornwall
I worked on the following on my 12 year old 130hp one the other day

£10 per hour depreciation or cost to change so to speak
Average 10l fuel per hour at 1.10/l = £11
£15/hr driver
Tyres £1/ hour
Oil and servicing 50p/ hr
Insurance £50p/hr

Total £38.per hour

Add 10% for profit and your nearly at around £42.
Close enough to my costings the other day.

Depreciation on mine this year was £14
Fuel on silage trailers on road work was £12
My arse on seat £12
I won't argue the rest but your right, it's around £40/hr all in.
I don't look for it either, getting too old for it!
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
I worked on the following on my 12 year old 130hp one the other day

£10 per hour depreciation or cost to change so to speak
Average 10l fuel per hour at 1.10/l = £11
£15/hr driver
Tyres £1/ hour
Oil and servicing 50p/ hr
Insurance £50p/hr

Total £38.per hour

Add 10% for profit and your nearly at around £42.
Anything for risk? You need to have something in there for sick pay, holidays etc.

And only 10% profit is not enough, it needs to be worth your while. My accountant mate worked on charging his staff out at 3x salary - 1 for the employee, 1 for overheads (paper, calculator and an office desk) and 1 for profit for him.
 
Too many try to work out exact detailed costs and although it is the correct business practise.. it doesn't really work like that in the contracting game.

A new T210 or a 165 will cost me approx £1500 per month,

Do 2000 hrs = £9 per hour cost
Do 3000 hrs = £6 per hour cost

All other cost barring fuel and labour are immaterial i.e. Forgot about working out tyres as I will swap before new needed.
Will swap again at 3 yrs / 6000hrs, whatever is sooner.
No interest in every owning the thing and the next one after that will probably still cost me £1500 per month down the line.

But yea £45 an hour minimum but aim for £55.
£45 doesn't leave a massive profit margin but I have found that leaving them in the shed to chase the bigger money that never comes doesn't make any profit either. I still find that 3 fivers is better than a tenner.

Every tractor out there is more than capable of turning £100,000 per year if you really want it.
 

Runs Like a Deere

Member
Mixed Farmer
Too many try to work out exact detailed costs and although it is the correct business practise.. it doesn't really work like that in the contracting game.

A new T210 or a 165 will cost me approx £1500 per month,

Do 2000 hrs = £9 per hour cost
Do 3000 hrs = £6 per hour cost

All other cost barring fuel and labour are immaterial i.e. Forgot about working out tyres as I will swap before new needed.
Will swap again at 3 yrs / 6000hrs, whatever is sooner.
No interest in every owning the thing and the next one after that will probably still cost me £1500 per month down the line.

But yea £45 an hour minimum but aim for £55.
£45 doesn't leave a massive profit margin but I have found that leaving them in the shed to chase the bigger money that never comes doesn't make any profit either. I still find that 3 fivers is better than a tenner.

Every tractor out there is more than capable of turning £100,000 per year if you really want it.
That works if you are hiring the machine purely to go contracting but if you are contracting to supplement your normal farming enterprise with a tractor you own or will own then it needs to pay you to do it, otherwise you are just using up useful life of the machine.
 
Too many try to work out exact detailed costs and although it is the correct business practise.. it doesn't really work like that in the contracting game.

A new T210 or a 165 will cost me approx £1500 per month,

Do 2000 hrs = £9 per hour cost
Do 3000 hrs = £6 per hour cost

All other cost barring fuel and labour are immaterial i.e. Forgot about working out tyres as I will swap before new needed.
Will swap again at 3 yrs / 6000hrs, whatever is sooner.
No interest in every owning the thing and the next one after that will probably still cost me £1500 per month down the line.

But yea £45 an hour minimum but aim for £55.
£45 doesn't leave a massive profit margin but I have found that leaving them in the shed to chase the bigger money that never comes doesn't make any profit either. I still find that 3 fivers is better than a tenner.

Every tractor out there is more than capable of turning £100,000 per year if you really want it.

Can you really get 3000 hours of chargeable work out of a tractor in a year? Doing what kind of thing?
 
Close enough to my costings the other day.

Depreciation on mine this year was £14
Fuel on silage trailers on road work was £12
My arse on seat £12
I won't argue the rest but your right, it's around £40/hr all in.
I don't look for it either, getting too old for it!

I go and drive others machines for £14-15ph.

I don't get a bill if it breaks down.
 

BuskhillFarm

Member
Arable Farmer
IMO I wouldn’t do any contracting work. I’d dare say the BIG contractors are only making a few grand a year per tractor, and that adds up with 10-20 machines out.

I always worked on the basis of you earn a £1 for an acre you own, you do need 3 acres rented for the same return and to be doing at least 10 acres+ of equivalent work contracting. Unless you live to just bounce around in a tractor 2500 hours a year there are much better business plans in farming
 

farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
She’s working in the local leisure centre as a life guard
:oops: I am sure your daughter would be worth all of that but I have to say in my experience even £5/hr remuneration for some of the staff at the local leisure centers in Shropshire would be beyond generous. Some I would consider entirely unemployable in any role. :cautious: Perhaps I am just narked off because we rang up a pool yesterday on the back of their website recommending pre-booking, was told its ok no need to book... of course when arrived the pool was full :banghead:
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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