Forage wagon road distance

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
So since nobody is really offering up any maths I will (with imaginary figures before anyone looses there sh!t over prices I quote)

on that distance doing well the forage wagons will do 2 load an hour each…
each load holding 1.5 acre of roughly…
So it’s gonna take 2 wagons 16.5hours to do it @ £200hr = 3300
Then Youv the rake on £6acre x £100 = £600
Mower on £15 acre x 100 = £1500
Buckrake on £45hr x 17= £765
So roughly £6165 all in

then too chop, clamp, rake and mow 3 trailers with forager all in @ £60acre x 100 £6000

100 acres probably take 6-7 hours with 5 trailers on that distance so Youv an extra

2 trailers x 7hrs x £40hr = £560

so £6560 too chop it with a forager

prices are based on last years prices I know of people charging… I’d imagine you can double it this year…
Is diesel included in those figures?
We cut 120 acres and reckoned to save around 30% overall costs compared to chopping.
Our advantage is to mow and buckrake it ourselves so probably save £1500 on your wagon costings. You could argue my time costs money too but not if I am swanning around with my tractor parked up in the shed while paying someone else.
Big advantage is booking 1 or 2 wagons rather than 5 trailers to all come on the same day.
 

Mc115reed

Member
Livestock Farmer
Is diesel included in those figures?
We cut 120 acres and reckoned to save around 30% overall costs compared to chopping.
Our advantage is to mow and buckrake it ourselves so probably save £1500 on your wagon costings. You could argue my time costs money too but not if I am swanning around with my tractor parked up in the shed while paying someone else.
Big advantage is booking 1 or 2 wagons rather than 5 trailers to all come on the same day.
Yeah diesel included… that’s what people round here were charging roughly last year…
 
We haul roughly 1.6 mile average.
5 cuts averaged out at £11/acre to lift them last year.
We have 3 or 4 wagons on to get the job done, 4 last year took out 260 acres of 2nd cut in 12 hours. Handler and shovel on the clamp.
Biggest issue with 3 wagons is keeping the rake infront. He makes some head room in a 4 ton crop then 3 wagons turn up and clear 12 acres in 10 min. He then has 20 min while they tip and back again.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
Do any of the self propelled contractors offer the forager by the hour?
That would make more sense for multi cut wouldn't it?
I haven't seen him for a year or two but a mate used to manage an outfit in Cheshire that would chop grass by the hour if the customer wanted. Mowing and raking were on the acre as was chopping wholecrop and maize.
 
Do any of the self propelled contractors offer the forager by the hour?
That would make more sense for multi cut wouldn't it?
I haven't seen him for a year or two but a mate used to manage an outfit in Cheshire that would chop grass by the hour if the customer wanted. Mowing and raking were on the acre as was chopping wholecrop and maize.
When I was in NZ it was all hourly. If it was by the acre then a paddock was never open, races rough as a rats arse and cows in the way. Tell a farmer it's per hour and you double productivity
 

Wesley

Member
Our contractor has based his prices on fuel usage of the forager in the past. Not sure if he still does.
He also lowers his price for multi cut if he does the complete job. Mows & groups with a Big M, rakes with 4 rotor but because he is covering less ground the raking charge is less & because of this he says he can clear more acres an hour so reduce he acre price for the forager.
 

Homesy

Member
Location
North West Devon
Has anyone any recommendations for a silage additive applicator, have been priced £3k for adding 1 to a wagon,looking at pumps last night they arnt that dear, and just for ourselves I'm sure a homemade job can be done.
 

Blue.

Member
Livestock Farmer
I had some land 9 miles away and it took me 50 minutes per load with the wagon,given it up this year because year on year it’s got worse due to temporary traffic lights and far busier roads.
Land I had 3 miles away was 2 loads to the hour,so 24t per hour,decent road and never any hassle,gave it up a few years back.
Everything I have is at home or a mile down the road now,have had contractor last few years because it was very hard work with the wagon and milking etc last year I did 100 acres of lighter crops and awkward fields between milkings and after milking,my wife doesn’t mind running the rake but scared herself going up the clamp on the loader.🤣
 

Scholsey

Member
Location
Herefordshire
Thanks that great, lot lot cheaper that what a dealer had quoted.

Can just use a quadbike sprayer, have a Flojet pump mounted on a 300litre tank which sits on a frame which sits on front weights and have nozzles underneath and to apply additive to swath, just have to turn it on and off whilst going around corners etc, had a local chap make a variable rate controller which cost £50 I think.
 
personally, for me, having wagons is about making the best possible, high quality silage. That boils down to putting the grass in the pit in thin layers and rolling it well. I am not familiar with a '320' but 3 wagons would be too fast for me and my front mounted buckrake unless I had someone else on the pit with a tractor just rolling full-time.
We cut around 200 ac/cut from close in and up to 3.5 miles away. We clear that in 2 days easily with 2 mid sized wagons and achieve very good pit densities by juggling whether the wagons pick up close-to or far away depending on how I am coping at the clamp. I am not afraid to tell the wagons to slow down if its coming too fast.
 

puppet

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw scotland
We will be cutting next week for first cut,would 3 wagons be to much for a 320 on the pit? Half is round the yard other half is not but nothing more than a mile away.
A wagon will lift 50 acres of June first cut here, so 2 wagons are plenty for a buckrake as it is slower to spread. You need a few minutes of rolling each load as it is a far bigger amount being tipped compared to a trailer. We get another tractor to do some rolling once the pit is getting half filled
3 wagons you will not have any spare time.
The weather is set for 10 days, it isn't a competition to see who can make the biggest heap in a day.
 

Milkcow365

Member
Location
Sw Scotland
A wagon will lift 50 acres of June first cut here, so 2 wagons are plenty for a buckrake as it is slower to spread. You need a few minutes of rolling each load as it is a far bigger amount being tipped compared to a trailer. We get another tractor to do some rolling once the pit is getting half filled
3 wagons you will not have any spare time.
The weather is set for 10 days, it isn't a competition to see who can make the biggest heap in a day.
I seem to of underestimated how much each one can do. Which is a good thing I suppose
 

Cowwilf

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
We haul roughly 1.6 mile average.
5 cuts averaged out at £11/acre to lift them last year.
We have 3 or 4 wagons on to get the job done, 4 last year took out 260 acres of 2nd cut in 12 hours. Handler and shovel on the clamp.
Biggest issue with 3 wagons is keeping the rake infront. He makes some head room in a 4 ton crop then 3 wagons turn up and clear 12 acres in 10 min. He then has 20 min while they tip and back again.


Thats more like what i was after but ideally somone averaging 3.5 miles. the wagons doing yours hold 16 tonnes of grass? what size wagon? they seem to work in m3. All i'm trying to do is work out roughly how long it would take to get an idea of cost. at least the team on the acre you know what the bill is going to be before you start.

I had some land 9 miles away and it took me 50 minutes per load with the wagon,given it up this year because year on year it’s got worse due to temporary traffic lights and far busier roads.
Land I had 3 miles away was 2 loads to the hour,so 24t per hour,decent road and never any hassle,gave it up a few years back.
Everything I have is at home or a mile down the road now,have had contractor last few years because it was very hard work with the wagon and milking etc last year I did 100 acres of lighter crops and awkward fields between milkings and after milking,my wife doesn’t mind running the rake but scared herself going up the clamp on the loader.🤣

so 2 loads an hour or so, what sort of tonnes per acre crop? and how many tonnes or acres per load in what size wagon?
 

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