Over recent weeks, we’ve brought you news that the FCI (The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland) is currently compiling an ‘agricultural contracting charges (prices) guide’.

It is believed that the association is intending to publish the list of prices as a “guide” and not a recommended price listing.

Figures are currently under discussion for a range of contractor services. As well as tillage operations, services up for debate include: silage harvesting; baling and bale handling; fertiliser application; hedge-cutting; slurry and muck spreading; as well as plant and tractor hire.

Here, we focus on the ‘guide price’ for zero-grazing – whereby a contractor’s tractor, driver and zero-grazing machine are used to gather grass from the field and haul it back to the yard.

The proposed ‘guide’ rate is €60/load (plus VAT); based on a ‘typical’ zero-grazing machine. Obviously, the figure will vary depending on individual machine capacity and the length of the draw (haul).

The FCI has presumably opted for a per-load figure (rather than a per-acre rate) because the volume of grass encountered on a per-acre basis can vary significantly – from farm-to-farm and from season-to-season. Is a per-load figure the best compromise?

Of course, the very concept of zero-grazing is a hot topic of debate in some farming circles. Some believe that it complicates – to an unnecessary extent – the very notion of a grass-based approach to farming; others believe that it is a well-justified system, through which you can make better use of the available grass (especially when ground conditions are marginal).

The aforementioned ‘price’ is believed to be an average, guide-line price – surveyed from FCI members. It may also change before the ‘guide’ is finally agreed by the membership.

The ‘price’ is apparently based on a (green) diesel price of 70c/L.