Helpful advice with hedge cutting start up

AwD

Member
Horticulture
Hello everyone I was after some information about hedge cutting recommendations on tractor and trimmer and pricing.
Basically I would like to get to doing some hedge and verge cutting work probably a bit more as time goes on but for now that's what I'm looking at. Pricing wise i seen a list for contractors pricing recommendations and they put a hourly rate 48 pph and was wondering if that's realistic as I was talking to someone the other day who does contracting and he was saying that he charges 24pph and sends his bill now for last year's work is this normal procedure just seems a long time to wait until payment and when I said about the recommendations for pricing the answer i got was you can ask for what you want doesn't mean people will pay it which i get but any fool can be busy with work doesn't mean you are making any money.
So what i im asking is.
Is 48pph a good bench mark price
If I do get some work how long is normal to wait for payment.
And if you were starting from scratch what tractor and hedge cutter would you buy.
Thanks in advance
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
No experience myself but from what I've heard from those who used to do it verge cutting is harder on trimmers than hedge trimming and not well paid.
Know a few round here packed it in because it doesn't pay.
No reason you shouldn't put your bill in when you've done the job
 

Grassman

Member
Location
Derbyshire
Unfortunately hedge cutting is the foot in the door in to agricultural contracting.
It's not as time critical as other operations.
Some contractors assume if they it do for very little money then they will get the more profitable jobs at farms.
So often you will see a £100k tractor with a £30k hedgecutter working at a loss.
My advice is work out your own costs and charge accordingly.
 

Tamar

Member
Location ?


Might be best to trim all the 'good life' farmers hedges and earn a few hundred quid a time for a few hours work, than do long days for real farmers and earn less.
 

Nearly

Member
Location
North of York
stihl-hs46-c-e-petrol-hedge-trimmer.jpeg


Tractor hesge trimming is often seen as a way to keep yourself occupied over the winter and priced accordingly, and paid eventually.
 

Mc115reed

Member
Livestock Farmer
Hedgecutting is literally the least profitable contracting operation, most contractors use it as a way to keep staff on over winter so loose money on it… it’s expensive to do and everybody’s charging f**k all to do it you’d be better with a tractor on its own pulling somebody else’s silage and grain trailers for your first year before you worry about bolting anything to the back of it
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

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

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,292
  • 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/
Top