Charging ploughing per hour

[hoff135]

Anyone else charging ploughing per hour?

About 3/4 of the stuff i plough is extremely marginal. Either very stoney, steep or hasnt been ploughed since the war and ends up blocking every 10 yards.

I have seen me down as low as 1/2 acre per hour which hardly covered the diesel at £25 per acre.

Been toying with going to £35 hour which isnt a lot but better than current situation. Thats for a 4 furrow plough.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Pretty much all contracting over here is billed /hour, the logical reason being it takes time to do a job.
It starts at around £75/hr but it's really more around the £90/$180

 

[R J]

Pretty much all contracting over here is billed /hour, the logical reason being it takes time to do a job.
It starts at around £75/hr but it's really more around the £90/$180

What price per hour would be , say 150 hp tractor and driver with you ?
Just interested for a comparison , thanks

 

[Kiwi Pete]

What price per hour would be , say 150 hp tractor and driver with you ?
Just interested for a comparison , thanks

It's very rare that fuel's supplied by a client, nearly always added to the bill; just a bare 150hp tractor/driver would be £60-70/hr fuel included.
Put a trailer/scoop/implement on and it would be £70-75, same as a mid sized digger.
When I was doing cultivation etc 10-15 years ago it was all £80/hr but with good big gear

 

[Werzle]

Anyone else charging ploughing per hour?

About 3/4 of the stuff i plough is extremely marginal. Either very stoney, steep or hasnt been ploughed since the war and ends up blocking every 10 yards.

I have seen me down as low as 1/2 acre per hour which hardly covered the diesel at £25 per acre.

Been toying with going to £35 hour which isnt a lot but better than current situation. Thats for a 4 furrow plough.

29th May farmers weekly published the annual average contracting prices set by the National Association of Ag contractors . Ploughing in light land was £25.55/ac and heavy land £27.06.

 

[Farmer Roy]

29th May farmers weekly published the annual average contracting prices set by the National Association of Ag contractors . Ploughing in light land was £25.55 and heavy land £27.06.

Wow
Per hour ?
I wouldn’t even turn the key for that . . .


I was paid almost that much to drive someone else’s machine for 4 months last year

 

[fieldfarmer]

29th May farmers weekly published the annual average contracting prices set by the National Association of Ag contractors . Ploughing in light land was £25.55 and heavy land £27.06.

Are those prices you speak of "set " by or just published by? I thought it was just an average of what the contractors / members tell them they have charged , but many I know are charging well below those printed figures to get more work and keep others out.

 

[Steevo]

Are those prices you speak of "set " by or just published by? I thought it was just an average of what the contractors / members tell them they have charged , but many I know are charging well below those printed figures to get more work and keep others out.

I never understand the figures either - they always sound higher than the "going rate" locally, but if they are an average - that suggests somewhere somebody is charging a whole lot more.

I do wonder whether the rates sent in are actual rates, or aspirational. "I'll tell them I charge £30/ac because it'll sound good, push the average up and then maybe all contractors will charge more, but actually I'm doing it for £25/ac" is rather how I see it might go.

 

[R J]

It's very rare that fuel's supplied by a client, nearly always added to the bill; just a bare 150hp tractor/driver would be £60-70/hr fuel included.
Put a trailer/scoop/implement on and it would be £70-75, same as a mid sized digger.
When I was doing cultivation etc 10-15 years ago it was all £80/hr but with good big gear

Cheers, that's quite a difference to here , and probably what it should be ,
What is a ton of wheat with you now ,out of interest
Cheers

 

[fieldfarmer]

I never understand the figures either - they always sound higher than the "going rate" locally, but if they are an average - that suggests somewhere somebody is charging a whole lot more.

I do wonder whether the rates sent in are actual rates, or aspirational. "I'll tell them I charge £30/ac because it'll sound good, push the average up and then maybe all contractors will charge more, but actually I'm doing it for £25/ac" is rather how I see it might go.

Yep, and the bonus is the customer thinks they are being looked after and treated better than the next farmer .

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Cheers, that's quite a difference to here , and probably what it should be ,
What is a ton of wheat with you now ,out of interest
Cheers

Not too well up with it, probably around $350-370 for feed and $400-430 for milling, it's usually around there.

 

[Gerbert]

I won't do work with a bare tractor for less than €45. Make it worth your while. I did some ploughing on odd and small pieces this spring for €65 with a four furrow reversible. I don't really care about the work though. I like to do it but if they can find anyone else for less they can go right ahead.

 

[Werzle]

Wow
Per hour ?
I wouldn’t even turn the key for that . . .


I was paid almost that much to drive someone else’s machine for 4 months last year

p/acre

 

[Werzle]

Are those prices you speak of "set " by or just published by? I thought it was just an average of what the contractors / members tell them they have charged , but many I know are charging well below those printed figures to get more work and keep others out.

NAAC price guide to help benchmark against uk national average. I always thought they were dear with the figures

 

[deleted user 837354]

With the book cost even at that, letting a contractor attack their own steel and tyres sounds pretty good value... Also ploughing is a job that wants doing properly and proper time taking to do it.

 

[fredf]

Wow
Per hour ?
I wouldn’t even turn the key for that . . .


I was paid almost that much to drive someone else’s machine for 4 months last year

That price is per acre not per hour.

Tom.

(Been beaten to it. Tom)

 

[Lexion1000]

Costing ploughing is quite difficult I think. Field size makes a big difference. Heavy or light soil also makes a big difference and also how abrasive the soil is. Ploughing 100 acre fields of nice loamy stuff that doesn’t wear the plough out is nice and cheap. 5 acre fields of stinking heavy soil or gravelly stuff full of boulders can be very expensive. So I think every scenario needs a different approach..

 

[saly123]

Those prices advertised are with fuel aren’t they.?

 

[Boohoo]

The hourly charge for ploughing is your normal per acre rate times the number of acres you plough an hour in good going. Tell the customer that's what it is before you start and tell them they'll be paying for any damage. With any luck they'll decide not to plough the bits that should never have a plough near them.

 

[Durry cows]

Plough 3 acres/hour with 170hp and 5 furrow here. Same as most things you can pay yourself reasonably well to do the job/pays for the kit but it’s the timeliness of operation that’s one of the main benefits imo