A €20 fuel surcharge, two-week credit periods, and charging by load or by hour; Agriland recently caught up with contractors to talk all things zero grazing.

It has been a unique year for Irish agriculture.

The grain harvest finished early, the slurry spreading period was extended, and now a burst of fine weather may see the zero grazer busy this November.

Price

Agriland found that contractors around the country are charging anywhere from €80 to €120 (excluding VAT) per load of zero grazed grass.

The capacity of the zero grazer accounts for the variation in price: the €120 load feeds 160 cows for 12 hours, while the €100 load feeds 80 to 100 cows for the same time period.

With fuel prices at an all-time high this year, one contractor reported having to add a fuel surcharge to his zero grazing jobs.

It doesn't matter whether diesel is 5 cent over the euro or 60 cent over," he added.

However, charging per load can lead to its own complications, as one contractor explained:

"If I have to pick-up 6 or 7ac of light grass just to fill one load, that added time and diesel cost impacts profitability.

"Unless they are a very good customer, I have to turn that work down," he added.

But one contractor in the south-east had an hourly-rate approach to pricing which takes into account the issue of light grass.

He charges based on a €120/hour rate, timing how long it takes cut a load in the field to calculate his invoice.

He explained that this method can sometimes receive push-back from customers who have lighter grass cover, but his reply puts the job into context:

"But I'm not just mowing; I also pick up the grass and transport it to the yard.

"No matter what way you do it, it's always dearer to make silage than to zero graze," he added.

Credit periods

In times gone by, some contractors were made to wait for their silage harvesting payment until the next harvest came around.

This unique culture has led to lasting misconceptions about when contractors should be paid.

One contractor said that he does not let any zero grazing invoices run longer than a month, while another said that he allows a two-week credit period.

A contractor in the north-east insisted that he will not take on another zero grazing job for a farmer until the last one is paid for.

However, a contractor in the south of the country admitted to taking a "far too relaxed approach" to his credit periods:

"You know who you are dealing with, it would be different if you didn't," he added.

One contractor in Wexford summed up the supply of zero grazing services quite well when he said:

"Nobody wants you at all for a week or two, then everyone wants you day and night."