The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has unveiled its ‘Contracting Charges Guide‘ for 2021.
Revealed in recent days, the association says that it is “satisfied that this averaged price guide is fair and reasonable for both contractors and farmers”.
However, the contractor representative body stresses that it is “only a guide”.
These FCI figures are produced on an annual basis. They are compiled by collating an “average figure for each operation from a panel of FCI contractor members from across Ireland”.
It was highlighted that, because of local differences, the actual guide charge may vary between regions, across soil types, distance travelled, size of contract undertaken, size and type of equipment used as well as the amount of product spread.
Michael Moroney, FCI CEO, said: “FCI always advocates working out individual charges based on the actual cost of the operation; this guide is helpful to both contractors and farmers in highlighting a national average.”
Image source: Shane Casey
These tables (below) detail the myriad of ‘guideline charge-out rates’ for 2021.
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This year sees contractors quoting an average of a 4% increase in charges, “rounded off to meet some of the increases in costs of machinery, insurance and labour costs” since the beginning of 2020.
Also Read: Table: Contractor association releases full 2020 ‘guide rates'Moroney said: “FCI always advocates that all contractors should examine their costs of operation in working out their individual charges.
“To ensure sustainability of the business, charges must be based on a realistic examination of the cost of the operating tractors and a full host of machinery, as well as the costs of running a modern progressive rural enterprise.”