Farmers have until the end of February to carry out hedge-cutting on their land.

As ground stands in relatively good order, many may be looking at cutting remaining hedges or some that may have been left on the long finger before now.

In this short article, we provide a quick glimpse of a selection of prices (charge-out rates) being touted (in advertisements) around the country. These figures are simply those that were observed at the time of writing.

In Co. Cork, €40/hour (plus VAT) is being charged for a flail hedge-cutter. This was also the case in counties Laois and Meath, while a price of €42/hour (including VAT) was quoted in Co. Tipperary.

€35/hour (including VAT) is being charged in parts of Co. Kilkenny (standard flail head), while €50/hour was being charged by one contractor in Co. Clare.

Meanwhile, a contractor in Co. Westmeath is priced at €60/hour with a twin-rotor flail head. The same contractor charges €70/hour for the use of a saw on the hedge-cutter. In addition, the contractor also charges €70/hour for saw work with a Komatsu PC130 track machine.

Farm contractor’s ‘guide’ prices

The FCI (The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland) released guide rates in 2018. In this guide hedge-cutting with a flail head was set at €45/hour (plus VAT). Cutting with a saw-head was guided at €60/head (plus VAT).

Hedge-cutting with an excavator or digger was recommended to be priced between €60/hour and €70/hour (plus VAT). Mulching hedges was guided at €50-70/hour (plus VAT).