Investments in machinery by tillage farmers require a thorough financial appraisal before any purchasing decision is taken.
The cost of machinery is the second largest cost on tillage farms: Typically about 25 – 30% of total growing costs.
Along with fertiliser and land rental, machinery costs account for approximately 70% of the total budget required to grow crops.
Teagasc was at the 2024 Irish Farm Machinery and Tractor Association machinery show and a common comment from many farmersm was about the cost of machinery.
Tractors now reportedly cost €1,000/hp. As a consequence, many are struggling to afford to replace kit when needed.
Investments in machinery
Significantly, Teagasc has a machinery calculator that can help farmers make decisions about the cost of replacing some of their machinery.
Back In 2018, as part of a Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) discussion group scheme, Teagasc got 139 farmers to complete the machinery cost calculator.
The average cost on tillage farms at the time was approximately €340/ha. Significantly, 14% of farms had higher machinery costs than contractor costs, even without the cost of a driver.
Teagasc launched a machinery sharing agreement template a number of years ago, which is now used by farmers around the country to facilitate sharing machinery between neighbours or friends.
This template sets out the rules and guidelines that can be agreed between different parties when deciding to purchase a machine together.
The template can be amended to suit a particular situation, so it can be used for each individual purchase. Copies of the template can be found in any Teagasc office or online.
Teagasc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan said:
“The template can be used as a tool to encourage farmers to share machines or to collaborate with their own machines to reduce costs.
“This agreement can be used by anyone including contractors to share some machinery especially that, which may not be in use all year-round.”
But there is also a fundamental requirement to fully maintain machinery that has already been purchased – a case in point is the upkeep of sprayers during periods of heavy frost.
If water is left in in the booms and pumps of these machines, two nights of temperatures getting down to the likes of -6 °C will cause damage.
Draining the water from the sprayer is one way around this problem. However, many modern sprayers have a very complicated specification, which makes the complete draining of the entire machine very difficult.
As a result of this, most manufacturers recommend that an anti-freeze solution is put into a sprayer to provide frost protection during the winter period.