Contract Farming, for a Dairy

[Daft farmer]

What would a contract farming agreement look like for to grow maize and combinables for a neighbour on their ground?

Would you get paid say per ton of DM in the clamp of maize and per ton of grain and straw?

They are a large livestock farm, so they would be responsible for applying manure and slurry?

 

[mountfarm]

So they’ve asked you to take over their cropping in a CFA?
Why wouldn’t they just use you as contractors?
if they want a CFA then as the contractor the onus is on you to produce the goods, so have they tried and failed? Poor soil nutrient status? Grade 4 soil?
I’d be a bit wary having grown maize for a dairy farm before using £35/t at a set DM, you can quickly get down to £25/t which is a poor yielding year doesn’t pay.

 

[deleted user 837354]

Maize is the riskiest crop by miles.

What happens if it's a pants autumn and the stuff sits there and isn't harvested until it is dead in November?

Why can't they just pay you to do the work- a fee per acre for each operation? What happens when you want to spray the lot with broadway star for ryegrass but the host farmer doesn't want to? Ditto same issue with wanting to put fertiliser, lime etc on? What if they go out and plaster a 20 acre field with 5000 gallons of slurry and the crop goes flat?

If the issue is they don't have the skills or time to grow a crop properly and would like your help then you can supply that along with your usual contracting fees?

I can see the appeal for both parties but it would need the right mindset in both camps. Arable farmers I dealt with approached the job with a lot more finesse than the dairy/livestock farmers I knew and how they would treat their crops could differ massively.

 

[Boysground]

I have had a number of different agreements with people to go maize for me over the years. As @deleted user 837354 says the most important factor by far is mind set and wanting the job to work.

For harvest 21 I have 3 agreements all different.
1 grows a fixed area for a fixed price per ton does all the work himself but I pay for seed and harvest. We have had this arrangement for at least 15 years. He has a supply of chicken muck and does have some fym from me and grows the best crop 9 years out of 10

Next one I pay per acre but I do all the work myself. Invoice as contractor and purchaser. He uses the same agronomist as me and we have never argued about chemical use. I do have a straw for muck agreement with him.

Finally the last one grows the crop all his decisions and work. Gets put in a clamp and we pay per ton of dm when we use it. It goes over a weigh bridge. This chap is a very large, very good arable farmer but does tend to want to get wheat in quickly so the dm system works well.

Everyone is very happy and I can see all the agreements continuing

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