Farm contractors in Ireland are currently running 20,000 tractors in Ireland and baling 5m bales of silage every year.

John Sheehy, National Chairman of the Association of Farm Contractors of Ireland (FCI) told the association’s conference recently that the Association’s members employ close to 10,000 skilled operators and used more than 500m litres of diesel annually.

The number of tractors, he said, used by contractors is about one-third of the national tractor fleet or more than 20,000 to carry out their work.

“Our machines harvest more than 5 million bales of silage each year along with spreading more than 20 billion litres of slurry, as well as establishing and harvesting many different food crops,” he said.

Sheehy also said that the quality of service and the quality of work provided by farm contractors in Ireland is now at a very high level.

“It’s a level of service that’s almost instantly available to our farming customers. It is also a quality of service that has allowed Irish farmers and food producers to be among the most sustainable food producers in the world.”

Contractors, he said, come into the farm yard with expensive machinery that demands a high level of investment with ongoing upgrades to exceed our efficiency year on year.

“We need that commitment to investment that brings efficiency to Irish farms to be understood in the
first instance and then appreciated.

“We provide as good a service as any other that goes into a farmer’s yard. But, unlike other services we don’t expect a call‐out charge; we get paid when the work is done, and not before it.”

Contractors unique part in the progress of Irish farming demands a new level of partnership that recognises the special role of the farm contractor,” he said and their role needs to be recognised and they can no longer sit and watch as policy changes erode incomes or add to our operating costs,” he added.

“Our important role needs to be more fully recognised. It is an area that has not received enough attention. This is not a fire brigade service but a service that’s now a necessary part of the everyday cost effective function of modern Irish farms.

“Irish farmers need a modern and efficient contractor service, FCI members can provide it and need to be part of the agenda for the future.”

Farm Contractors Costs

Tipperary‐based farm consultant PJ Phelan outlined to the conference with his approach to developing a simple system using the contractor’s accounts to estimate the annual and daily cost of doing work.

He suggested that contractors look at their total costs in their accounts and divide that by the total number of litres of diesel fuel used for the year.

“This figure gives you a  diesel cost index based on each litre of fuel used,” said PJ Phelan.

“That means that if you go out to work and use 800 litres of fuel and multiply that by the cost factor index,
and that will tell you how much money that particular day cost you.”