Irrigation Prices
- Thread starter fov63
- Start date
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
how long, is your piece of string, exactly?
Need far more detail?
Need far more detail?
- Location
- Huntingdon
i used to break it down like this :
when it was £ 25-30 acre inch: it was £10 water £10 Kit £10 fuel for pumping iirc
no idea what the going rate applied is now
when it was £ 25-30 acre inch: it was £10 water £10 Kit £10 fuel for pumping iirc
no idea what the going rate applied is now
Thank you average rate at the moment is £40/ 20mm we were asking the same as you in a 3 way split giving us £26/Ac inch. Was told it was too much and offered £18 / acre inch !!!
We are supplying everything - equipment, irrigator, pipes, tractor and labour but not the water or electric. Wondering how best to charge for this or what do other people do. ?
- Location
- Breckland
Work out a weekly or season long charge to hire out the pipes and reel. Then charge your hours to operate the tractor and your labour.
Here I supply a complete package and charge circa £38/acre / inch.
You have got me to go back over my figures !!
Here I supply a complete package and charge circa £38/acre / inch.
You have got me to go back over my figures !!
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
I would have thought in the region £20 - 25. is it all in inch doses? if half inch then certainly the top end. If small irregular fields probably near £30
Roger Perry
Member
Just for comparison a brand new 125-130 acre pivot erected ready to go is around $75k. good for at least a 40 yr life
I know pivots are not used in UK but they are a cheap way to irrigate/feed the crop
I know pivots are not used in UK but they are a cheap way to irrigate/feed the crop
- Location
- Huntingdon
the cost to apply an inch vs 1/2 is hardly any different, perhaps a bit more wear on gears but thats it. (except pumping and water of course)
i guess it depends on competition for water and the competition for people wanting to do it. Where abouts are you?
i still have nightmares about it. its not called irritation for nothing !
I'd say its a case of supply and demand.... you have the kit, he doesnt. Charge a fair price for you that will get you future work..
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
We do use a few there are probably 10- 20 on local farms. One farm had them installed over 30 years ago
- Location
- West Suffolk
From what I’ve seen they tend to end up on the edge of the field in the grass after a couple of years, and the farmer goes back to hose reels!
- Location
- West Suffolk
I’ve been paying £45 per acre inch on spuds for a few years now. Everything in.
essex man
Member
- Location
- colchester
It's the labour that's hard to quantify, on a small scale... Say an 20mm on 150 acres a week, couple of reels,good underground network, you tend to find that you running around first thing in morning and thing at night.
I do it on my own land for other people at£40 per inch but have some equipment thrown in by one tenant.
It adds value to my land, me being able to it.
Wouldn't do it for someone else, unless labour element was a lot more than £10
I do it on my own land for other people at£40 per inch but have some equipment thrown in by one tenant.
It adds value to my land, me being able to it.
Wouldn't do it for someone else, unless labour element was a lot more than £10
Roger Perry
Member
Wow, why is that..? a pivot is a pretty foolproof piece of equipment, never see rainguns here at all, the droplet size would be considered too large/harsh on the crop...........also loss of water to the atmosphere by throwing it into the air, we like to put it down close to the crop 95% efficient is real important in a dry climate.
- Location
- LINCOLNSHIRE/KENYA
We rent 8 pivots and have 5 of our own the pivots are the cheap bit whats expensive is the cabling, pipe work and the pump set up but the bigger the pivot the cheaper it is I think our 175 acre pivot cost about $ 60,000 and the ancillary work the same so around $120,000 to irrigate 175 acres. They are low pressure 2-3 bar so cheapish to run. Whenever I see rain guns or booms I wonder how people can get around with them however a pivot is circular and most are not easy to move around but as we grow 3-4 crops a year they work for us. I often think about putting one up at home but there are electric lines and ditches to contend with plus they need to be where your high value crops are so rotations don't work unless you are prepared to irrigate low value crops for three or four years until your potatoes come back.
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- Location
- West Suffolk
I agree, pivot definitely a better system for all that you mention. I’ll have to ask someone involved with selling them here, why they’re not so popular.
- Location
- Breckland
I believe they aren't more common because fields here just can't accommodate them.
We have smaller fields, odd shaped fields, ditches, pylons etc all of which limit where pivots can go.
We have smaller fields, odd shaped fields, ditches, pylons etc all of which limit where pivots can go.
- Location
- West Suffolk
I think I’m mainly thinking where I’ve seen them abandoned, Haims at Tuddenham Suffolk had a couple, I’m sure they didn’t use them for many years? A few down the A11 near Thetford too, not sure if they’re still used?
- Location
- Breckland
Nelstrop put some up next to the a11 30 plus years ago. He doesn't farm it but they are still used. Elveden, I think had some but not sure if they still use it or them. They have lots of linears which they move field to field in the winter. They are more suited to our fields than the pivots.
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