Agronomist charges.

[juke]

What would anyone say is a fair walking fee for a good indy agronomist, my feeling is between £6.50 and £7, with the ability to quote on recommendations made giving the opportunity to earn commission.
I'm hearing of people paying £8 and above for indy advice and the opportunity to quote would the members feel that this is getting too expensive In what's already a competitive world ?

 

[Clive]

What would anyone say is a fair walking fee for a good indy agronomist, my feeling is between £6.50 and £7, with the ability to quote on recommendations made giving the opportunity to earn commission.
I'm hearing of people paying £8 and above for indy advice and the opportunity to quote would the members feel that this is getting too expensive In what's already a competitive world ?

ac or Ha ?

 

[juke]

ac or Ha ?

AC sorry

 

[Brisel]

How many acres? We're around a fiver/acre for 300 acres+ Recommendations only, no products, ordering etc.

 

[juke]

How many acres? We're around a fiver/acre for 300 acres+ Recommendations only, no products, ordering etc.

It's a discussion I'm having for a friend's place he's just short of a thousand acres

 

[teslacoils]

I pay £4/AC. I expect this will rise slightly due to reduced area of combinables. I pay on top about £150 for a comprehensive manure / organic matter plan given my reliance on digesate and muck. I order all product.

Tbh , on my area I don't really need one but a) he likes coming as I don't muck about and b) it's cheaper than doing my own.

 

[e3120]

For 7k and a chance of a slice of product sales (there's only 1 person paying this), I'd expect he comes and leads the corn in his off season.

 

[MNBVCXZ]

If they’re quoting for sales they aren’t independent are they!

 

[MikeNeaverson]

I’m an independent, without knowing the farm it’s impossible to quote really. Small farms often take up a hugely disproportional amount of time if you include nutrient planning etc. I often think it’s fairer on all to charge by the hour

 

[juke]

If they’re quoting for sales they aren’t independent are they!

Not entirely but there's no such thing as a true independent nobody's gonna make there fortune of walking fees alone. they all get a screw somewhere but if the company they work for or have dealings with are the cheapest for the required chemical then its not the end of the world.

 

[mountfarm]

Not entirely but there's no such thing as a true independent nobody's gonna make there fortune of walking fees alone. they all get a screw somewhere but if the company they work for or have dealings with are the cheapest for the required chemical then its not the end of the world.

This is not true. All our agronomist does is field walk. We buy chemicals from wherever we want. He doesn’t know where they come from as it’s nothing to do with him. He charges us £4.50/acre and he has 30 clients totalling about 20,000ac. He sees everybody routinely every 3 weeks but will come more if there’s a need. The price doesn’t alter for more visits.

 

[ajd132]

This is not true. All our agronomist does is field walk. We buy chemicals from wherever we want. He doesn’t know where they come from as it’s nothing to do with him. He charges us £4.50/acre and he has 30 clients totalling about 20,000ac. He sees everybody routinely every 3 weeks but will come more if there’s a need. The price doesn’t alter for more visits.

That is a bloody big area to walk

 

[Hindsight]

That is a bloody big area to walk

Long legs, fit as a butchers dog. Uses a Quad bike. Operates three drones as he goes and utilizes night vision equipment. The aggro of the future.

 

[ajd132]

Long legs, fit as a butchers dog. Uses a Quad bike. Operates three drones as he goes and utilizes night vision equipment. The aggro of the future.

530ha a day if not including weekends plus all the time spent doing recomendations! busy guy!

 

[richard hammond]

Not entirely but there's no such thing as a true independent nobody's gonna make there fortune of walking fees alone. they all get a screw somewhere but if the company they work for or have dealings with are the cheapest for the required chemical then its not the end of the world.

There are the odd TOTALLY independent agronomists and that is why some agronomists are not wealthy people but can lay straight in bed at night!!! (when will supply get taken away from advise, some advise I see is near to illegal both by law or ethically!!!!

 

[ajd132]

I know someone who is charging £20/ha as he believes it’s the only way he can garuntee he is truly independent and not have to walk a ridiculous amount of crops to make up for it.

 

[Boysground]

I have just had one agronomist retire and another replace him who I have known for years. Prices in the area of everyone else on here. Agronomy has not been linked to chemical buying for a long time. I do all the purchasing just receive the plans, have a chat and make an order.

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[Hampton]

How many acres? We're around a fiver/acre for 300 acres+ Recommendations only, no products, ordering etc.

Bit smaller than your old place!

 

[henry]

I’m an independent, without knowing the farm it’s impossible to quote really. Small farms often take up a hugely disproportional amount of time if you include nutrient planning etc. I often think it’s fairer on all to charge by the hour

That is reasonable. What rate per hour do you look to charge?

 

[MikeNeaverson]

Again rates vary a bit but generally between £30-£40/hr depending on whats involved. That includes all mileage though and I tend to undercharge for hours actually worked as I never bother recording those times when I poke my nose in a few fields as I'm just driving past, or when you need a rec changed at the last minute etc, which actually adds up to quite a lot of time.

As an aside, agronomists work profiles have changed quite a lot in this area. A third of area used to be OSR which agronomically is pretty much over before the cereals really kick off. Sugar beet is up in the air too. Without OSR to spread the load and 50% more beet to walk weekly this year, I wouldn't have felt comfortable walking the same total area that I could have done five years ago.