Can we all carry on farming?

mountfarm

Member
Realistically with fertiliser prices still rising and my fuel supplier is saying Red diesel will just hit parity with white diesel very shortly, can we actually carry on?
Just looking at our combine as it’s going to cost us £45,000 in fuel alone this coming harvest if Red diesel hits £1.50/l.
Had a guy come today for an interview and he wanted £15/hour with a guaranteed 60 hour week all year round. Tried to explain to him that it’s not viable due to input prices increasing and he just didn’t get it.
We were going to spend £100,000 prior to harvest on a used tractor and a couple of pieces of used equipment but we’ve shelved that idea. I’m uncomfortable using cash reserves just to carry on farming and having a couple of years off producing crops looks very attractive at the minute. Luckily we’re diversified so could retain existing staff and be ok. What’s everybody else thinking?
 

Muddyroads

Member
NFFN Member
Location
Exeter, Devon
Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

What a marvellous thing mixed farming is, it might become fashionable again.

Will smaller tractors & implements be the way forward?
Everything needs more hp than it used to & you don't get extra hp out without putting extra fuel in.
Exactly this. Mixed farming and diversification where possible.
 

thorpe

Member
we need some guidence here, 20?% going into mid tier which were quite comfy with knowiing the land thats going into it half of it will be back into wheat in 2 years . even with higer crop values the higher input prices make things difficult on land with problems. having had a reasonable year last year do we reinvest in the buisness or pay a load of tax?
 

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
What I'm wondering is, how are the Ukrainian farmers going to get on harvesting all their wheat, rape and corn come July/Aug with all this warmongering going on all around them?
The reality is russians have 2000 tanks. Ukraine is size of france and germany. May i suggest most rural ukraine will never see a russian. So it depends on political stability and availability of fuel etc. and port facilities not blown up for export. Just my ignorant thoughts? Welcome better knowledge.
 

Bobthebuilder

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
northumberland
Realistically with fertiliser prices still rising and my fuel supplier is saying Red diesel will just hit parity with white diesel very shortly, can we actually carry on?
Just looking at our combine as it’s going to cost us £45,000 in fuel alone this coming harvest if Red diesel hits £1.50/l.
Had a guy come today for an interview and he wanted £15/hour with a guaranteed 60 hour week all year round. Tried to explain to him that it’s not viable due to input prices increasing and he just didn’t get it.
We were going to spend £100,000 prior to harvest on a used tractor and a couple of pieces of used equipment but we’ve shelved that idea. I’m uncomfortable using cash reserves just to carry on farming and having a couple of years off producing crops looks very attractive at the minute. Luckily we’re diversified so could retain existing staff and be ok. What’s everybody else thinking?
what do you want to pay a new worker :unsure: and what do you expect them to do
 
Location
Devon
Realistically with fertiliser prices still rising and my fuel supplier is saying Red diesel will just hit parity with white diesel very shortly, can we actually carry on?
Just looking at our combine as it’s going to cost us £45,000 in fuel alone this coming harvest if Red diesel hits £1.50/l.
Had a guy come today for an interview and he wanted £15/hour with a guaranteed 60 hour week all year round. Tried to explain to him that it’s not viable due to input prices increasing and he just didn’t get it.
We were going to spend £100,000 prior to harvest on a used tractor and a couple of pieces of used equipment but we’ve shelved that idea. I’m uncomfortable using cash reserves just to carry on farming and having a couple of years off producing crops looks very attractive at the minute. Luckily we’re diversified so could retain existing staff and be ok. What’s everybody else thinking?
Ref the £15 an hour, that is the bare min that wages now need to be, what with the cost of everything its not physically possible for anyone to live on less unless you treat them like a dairy farm worker and make them live in a shitty caravan that is not even fit for the farm dog and which overlooks the farm slurry pit.

Two jobs locally looking for workers, one driving a swing shovel, £21 an hour for at least 50 hours a week if you want that many and a telehandler driver unloading lorry's on a building site at £18 hour for 40 hours a week, both jobs state that other than greasing up/washing your machine there will be no other manual labour!
 

mountfarm

Member
what do you want to pay a new worker :unsure: and what do you expect them to do

Sorry I didn’t explain very well. So this was for a general worker, so things like corn cart, corn store cleaning, bowser and some none farming work on the diversifications such as groundscare. So he basically wanted £47,000/year. He’s 22 years old with minimal experience but clearly a bright chap and appears to be a ‘doer’.
 

BrianV

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Dartmoor
Realistically with fertiliser prices still rising and my fuel supplier is saying Red diesel will just hit parity with white diesel very shortly, can we actually carry on?
Just looking at our combine as it’s going to cost us £45,000 in fuel alone this coming harvest if Red diesel hits £1.50/l.
Had a guy come today for an interview and he wanted £15/hour with a guaranteed 60 hour week all year round. Tried to explain to him that it’s not viable due to input prices increasing and he just didn’t get it.
We were going to spend £100,000 prior to harvest on a used tractor and a couple of pieces of used equipment but we’ve shelved that idea. I’m uncomfortable using cash reserves just to carry on farming and having a couple of years off producing crops looks very attractive at the minute. Luckily we’re diversified so could retain existing staff and be ok. What’s everybody else thinking?
I'm thinking maybe it might have been better if Ukraine had just agreed to stay out of NATO & I bet there's an awful lot of Ukrainians thinking the very same right now!
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Mrs teslacoils would be better off dumping law for digger driving.
Ref the £15 an hour, that is the bare min that wages now need to be, what with the cost of everything its not physically possible for anyone to live on less unless you treat them like a dairy farm worker and make them live in a shitty caravan that is not even fit for the farm dog and which overlooks the farm slurry pit.

Two jobs locally looking for workers, one driving a swing shovel, £21 an hour for at least 50 hours a week if you want that many and a telehandler driver unloading lorry's on a building site at £18 hour for 40 hours a week, both jobs state that other than greasing up/washing your machine there will be no other manual labour!
 
Location
Devon
Seen a lot of places exactly like that. Can't understand why people can't get workers to stay for long.
One on FB the other week said he would only charge £40 a week for the mobile home, you had to pay for elec on top and would have to check calving cows every evening both on your work days/ days off/holidays for having the mobile home... did not get one reply and came back moaning everyone are workshy and do not like hard work!
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

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

  • 1,287
  • 1
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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