Forums
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New resources
Latest activity
Trending Threads
Resources
Latest reviews
Search resources
FarmTV
Farm Compare
Search
Tokens/Searches
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Members
Registered members
Current visitors
New Resources
New posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
Farm Business
Agricultural Matters
The on-going up hill battle that is agriculture.....
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Cowabunga" data-source="post: 7547912" data-attributes="member: 718"><p>The cost of doing business in a low margin sector that primarily sells commodities under constant price pressure is nonetheless high and divorced from commodity prices. Basically many farmers are marginally viable at best and contractors seldom can charge enough to cover modern high and ever higher capacity equipment needed to reduce labour per unit of output, plus that labour at a wage that makes it attractive to attract able, competent and ambitious young people. The starting wage for skilled high quality operators should be around the £28,000 mark and with overtime and bonuses for long hours and a high standard of competence they should be taking home between £35k and £40k per year before tax. But they are not, because we can't afford it. Because we do not control the price of the goods we sell. We are price takers not price setters.</p><p>The best will tend to find plenty of work where the reward is much higher than in agriculture, such as in a trade. Otherwise they will try to farm themselves in some cases.</p><p></p><p>EDIT</p><p></p><p>I was about an hour between composing the above and posting it due to work, and I see others have made broadly the same point about other work opportunities and the relative income and hours.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cowabunga, post: 7547912, member: 718"] The cost of doing business in a low margin sector that primarily sells commodities under constant price pressure is nonetheless high and divorced from commodity prices. Basically many farmers are marginally viable at best and contractors seldom can charge enough to cover modern high and ever higher capacity equipment needed to reduce labour per unit of output, plus that labour at a wage that makes it attractive to attract able, competent and ambitious young people. The starting wage for skilled high quality operators should be around the £28,000 mark and with overtime and bonuses for long hours and a high standard of competence they should be taking home between £35k and £40k per year before tax. But they are not, because we can't afford it. Because we do not control the price of the goods we sell. We are price takers not price setters. The best will tend to find plenty of work where the reward is much higher than in agriculture, such as in a trade. Otherwise they will try to farm themselves in some cases. EDIT I was about an hour between composing the above and posting it due to work, and I see others have made broadly the same point about other work opportunities and the relative income and hours. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Farm Business
Agricultural Matters
The on-going up hill battle that is agriculture.....
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top