• Welcome to The Farming Forum!

    As part of this update, we have made a change to the login and registration process. If you are experiences any problems, please email [email protected] with the details so we can resolve any issues.

Contractors ,Silage cost by the ton

d williams

Member
Is any one charging to make silage by the ton ?
Our new forager has a system on it the weigh the grass & take the D/M content & this is what we are planning on doing in the next few years for the people that want to pay by the ton, we will charge some much per ton for the complete job.
There was a contractor in west wales I think they won contractor of the year a few years back charging by the ton he said it spread his work load and covered more ac rather then costomers waiting for it to bulk up and all coming together
 
I contemplated the same thing, trouble is after using the info for a bit you realise no 2 tonnes cost the same to chop the same as no 2 acres do so you have no better a system than you do now.
Something I also once tried to explain to a customer is it's the total amount that counts, if the job is 100 a.c., 500t I can charge 50 quid an acre or 10 quid a tonne but are either of us better off? And at the end of the season if you earn less on the tonnage rate that's bad, if you earn more that's bad if you earn the same it was a waste of effort
 

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
Chopping, wagon, trailers and buckrake all by the hour. Raking and tedding by the acre. Seems fairer to me. Lovely flat fields with good rows you bash on at 10 acres an hour but on our fields with corners and knowes to run round empty you might do 8. An hourly rate seems fairer to the contractor and my experience of contractors here is that an hourly rate does not seem to make them go slower.
Pay by weight might seem fair but for me you might then add a bit on anyway which simply means it is going to take longer - ie by the hour.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
There was a contractor in west wales I think they won contractor of the year a few years back charging by the ton he said it spread his work load and covered more ac rather then costomers waiting for it to bulk up and all coming together
Graham Parkes. Retired from the silage job now. Trailers had hydraulic weigher on.
 

d williams

Member
Graham Parkes. Retired from the silage job now. Trailers had hydraulic weigher on.
Not sure I thought it was two brothers and their father
I’ve been through the town they live by the coast farm on edge of town /village I’m sure they were on vegan gwald one time
 

Speedstar

Member
Location
Scottish Borders
We are thinking so much per ton Based on D/M for every thing mowers, rake, chopper , buckrake , compactor & 4 trailers , then on longer carts the cost would more per ton for the more trailers you run .
 

How is your SFI 24 application progressing?

  • havn't been invited to apply

    Votes: 29 36.3%
  • have been invited to apply

    Votes: 14 17.5%
  • applied but not yet accepted

    Votes: 29 36.3%
  • agreement up and running

    Votes: 8 10.0%

Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

  • 2,452
  • 50
On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

This webinar will be...
Back
Top