At what point do you say f* it I'll just buy the kit and do it myself.

johndeere6920s said:
It's a stupid cycle.
Too many clowns around that want to have the Bluetooth earpiece in telling everyone they meet a out how busy they are that they don't get time to sleep etc.
Some load of shite I honestly don't know how or why farmers listen to that rubbish, I suppose usually they are getting the work done for nothing so put up with it, I see it here myself Id be chatting to farmers usually about anything that isn't related to silage, they be telling me there contractor was saying that he can't cope with the pressure he's under and he's wrecked tired and it's all moaning and having a huge pity party for themselves.
A customer of mine met one of these one day in the shop and the contractor was telling him how he was so stressed and he had too much work and all this,
Customer turned to him and said sure if it's troubling you that much youd be as well sell up, shut him up fairly quick.
Anyway going off on a tangent the hero's dilute the work for the lads that run a professional show.
The vast majority of them have a good few years pick up a bit of work then realise that it's not as glorious as they think it is and are in a corner then so can't up there rates massively as it's what needs to be done so they fade away,
But what they do is they stop the lads who are doing it for a living upping the rates.
There's no reason contractors chargers shouldnt have risen 20% this year.
Other than fools.
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It's been that way a long time and the only thing that might change it is when contractors get thin enough on the ground.
 
Lads I am all for having your own gear if u are able to maintain and drive them!! We did our own silage years ago when I was younger… dad then sold the balers (2x Rolland 46s) 🙄… but then in the last few years again we got another baler and a tractor to drive it. Our mower baler and wrapper are probably standing us 8/9k total the baler is here 4 years the mower 3 (bought it with the bed gone) and the wrapper got upgrade last year for a fresher machine… they are all 15+
years old but doing what we want and making good bales cheap… it’s not without a few mechanical head aches each year but me and the aul lad are good on/enjoy spanner/ engineering work for abit… but god help the farmer that all he knows is livestock and nothing to do mechanicallly cus he will have a headache from start to finish also if u don’t have help don’t even try to do silage!!! There are 2 of us on the farm all the time if not 3/4 (with cousins help) of us around when silage is been done. It can be cheaper and cost effective but not worth it if u aren’t suited to gear end of! And it’s the same with any job! There are steering wheel attendants/ stock men and then there are machine operators that can also be very good stock men but not all lads are!!
 
Am I Alone in thinking that the pit silage game has gone out of all order, 2nd harvesters, bigger trailers, rakes mowers etc and same acres. The excuse is if I don’t get to the work the lad down the road will, ser if the lad down the road is all out to handle his own work then how could he manage to take other work? Around here pit silage work rarely changes hand bar a fella giving up, a lot of this panic and stress is drawn on by themselves from what I can see. Like any person in any profession there is only so much a person can do in a day and that’s that. All the few million euro outfits are all parked now after 20 days work and complaining now about the cost of gear etc for the next 11 months. This year at the pit game was an exception I will admit as weather prevented anyone from doing anything for 3 weeks down here, seems like a lot of this is self inflicted. Access to cheap finance has not helped at all, too easy get money.
As for the opening question of the thread, I’d buy a machine or machinery when it makes financial sence to do the job myself from a time and cost point of view, until such time local contractors are super at their job and they do the work we don’t do ourselves.
 
johndeere6920s said:
I don't think too many is the problem it's the lads that are at it for the glory are the bother
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What do you mean by the glory?
Milk is up there year and so is beef but they were way back last year. I know what your saying so maybe just up your price by 20% so. You’ll never get unless you ask.
 
Blackwater boy said:
Am I Alone in thinking that the pit silage game has gone out of all order, 2nd harvesters, bigger trailers, rakes mowers etc and same acres. The excuse is if I don’t get to the work the lad down the road will, ser if the lad down the road is all out to handle his own work then how could he manage to take other work? Around here pit silage work rarely changes hand bar a fella giving up, a lot of this panic and stress is drawn on by themselves from what I can see. Like any person in any profession there is only so much a person can do in a day and that’s that. All the few million euro outfits are all parked now after 20 days work and complaining now about the cost of gear etc for the next 11 months. This year at the pit game was an exception I will admit as weather prevented anyone from doing anything for 3 weeks down here, seems like a lot of this is self inflicted. Access to cheap finance has not helped at all, too easy get money.
As for the opening question of the thread, I’d buy a machine or machinery when it makes financial sence to do the job myself from a time and cost point of view, until such time local contractors are super at their job and they do the work we don’t do ours
Click to expand...
I was asked twice this year to bring a 2nd baler to silage jobs. I certainly didn't volunteer to do it. In 20 years I never ran 2 balers at silage, and have only done it occasionally at straw in a broken harvest.
 
Joseph 88 said:
I'm not sure of exact figures, I work on a farm, I don't run it.

According to FCI, bale prices are up to 14% higher than they were in 2019, I can't imagine the prices of milk or beef are up much more
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I wouldn't put much heed on what the FCI have to say. Bale prices aren't up 14% here anyway.
 
johndeere6920s said:
I don't think too many is the problem it's the lads that are at it for the glory are the bother
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Sure its the same in suckler farming. Lads selling weanlings for less money than it cost to rear them. I wouldn't really call it glory. It there were less suckler farmers around that sold cheap then we'd all have better money for our cattle.

johndeere6920s said:
Are dairy and beef not on higher prices this year than that of 2 years ago?
Click to expand...

Most beef farmers are making less of a loss this year as opposed to making more profit.
 
TAFKAT said:
You wouldn't be long seeing 3 or 4 days slip away in a broken harvest. It could take an hour or a week to cut 2 or 3 acres. If you tell someone that you have a couple of hours work to finish up where you are, and you should be with them tomorrow, it's hardly your fault if the weather doesn't play ball.
Click to expand...
I normally tell lads the list ahead of them that way they know that if the weather is bad they understand , having 2 combines helps the situation tho.
 
TAFKAT said:
I wouldn't put much heed on what the FCI have to say. Bale prices aren't up 14% here anyway.
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I find it hard to understand why a representative body would over exaggerate price increases?
 
Farmerbigballs said:
A good contractor is never deer. A local dairy farmer here use to always employ a contractor to do his silage (self propelled) until last year he mowed himself, (tractor and mower bought to save tax)?got a guy to bring it in with a wagon and put up himself(with a loader bought just for purposes down to save tax)..
slow stressful, cows not milked till all hours
but undeterred this year seen the addition of a second hand hand forage wagon.
Which proceeded to break knives first day out! The machine appeared good but it seems it was a cut and shut rotor or something.
What took a self propelled silage crew 6 hours to leave him a fully tax deductible bill, took a week of hardship and around 100k of depreciating machinery.
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But are they depreciating as fast as the amount it cost to get the contractor though?
 
Blackwater boy said:
What do you mean by the glory?
Milk is up there year and so is beef but they were way back last year. I know what your saying so maybe just up your price by 20% so. You’ll never get unless you ask.
Click to expand...
Some lads just want to go around doing bits of work to be seen, usually these lads have another source of income and have no idea if there making money or not, I don't think it's as big an issue in some parts of the country as others.
The bother is they would still get the bits of work if they charged rates where there was a bit of a profit margin.
For instance a builder wouldn't build a house just to cover his costs because he lovers building houses.
muckymanor said:
Sure its the same in suckler farming. Lads selling weanlings for less money than it cost to rear them. I wouldn't really call it glory. It there were less suckler farmers around that sold cheap then we'd all have better money for our cattle.



Most beef farmers are making less of a loss this year as opposed to making more profit.
Click to expand...
It's the same in some livestock circles I agree, some lads just like to have nice cattle around the farm there is no attention paid to how much they will leave them.
 
Is there anyone actually panicking. I think you are all writing about scenarios that are all in your head. There is a sort of a group think that there are Baler wars going on . Farms were never as well equipped and likewise contractors. Money never was as cheap. Most contractors have some sort of work year round. The story’s of lads sticking tines in tyres due to inexperience can happen but only the once.
 
johndeere6920s said:
It's a stupid cycle.
Too many clowns around that want to have the Bluetooth earpiece in telling everyone they meet a out how busy they are that they don't get time to sleep etc.
Some load of shite I honestly don't know how or why farmers listen to that rubbish, I suppose usually they are getting the work done for nothing so put up with it, I see it here myself Id be chatting to farmers usually about anything that isn't related to silage, they be telling me there contractor was saying that he can't cope with the pressure he's under and he's wrecked tired and it's all moaning and having a huge pity party for themselves.
A customer of mine met one of these one day in the shop and the contractor was telling him how he was so stressed and he had too much work and all this,
Customer turned to him and said sure if it's troubling you that much youd be as well sell up, shut him up fairly quick.
Anyway going off on a tangent the hero's dilute the work for the lads that run a professional show.
The vast majority of them have a good few years pick up a bit of work then realise that it's not as glorious as they think it is and are in a corner then so can't up there rates massively as it's what needs to be done so they fade away,
But what they do is they stop the lads who are doing it for a living upping the rates.
There's no reason contractors chargers shouldnt have risen 20% this year.
Other than fools.
Click to expand...
I can't agree. I do very little work with the bale trailer, but even then it's a torture. You are falling out with neighbours because they ring looking for you that morning, I've even been at my own and there was a face on because I couldn't come till I'd finished it.
Everyone wants it done on the same day, no one can tell you reasonabley how many they have to shift, so you can't tell the next man in line when you'll get to them.
I'm lucky enough that most I work with will work with me, gentlemen to be fair, but some would get short and hang up the phone because I can give them an answer to when I'll be there. Maybe that's why most contractors lie so much.
 
Bog Man said:
Is there anyone actually panicking. I think you are all writing about scenarios that are all in your head. There is a sort of a group think that there are Baler wars going on . Farms were never as well equipped and likewise contractors. Money never was as cheap. Most contractors have some sort of work year round. The story’s of lads sticking tines in tyres due to inexperience can happen but only the once.
Click to expand...
The next time someone rings me to bale hay or straw at an hour's notice, and if I can't do it they'll get someone else, I'll tell them that a wise old elf off the internet told me they were only a figment of my imagination. That will soften their cough.
 
jcb411abuser said:
I can't agree. I do very little work with the bale trailer, but even then it's a torture. You are falling out with neighbours because they ring looking for you that morning, I've even been at my own and there was a face on because I couldn't come till I'd finished it.
Everyone wants it done on the same day, no one can tell you reasonabley how many they have to shift, so you can't tell the next man in line when you'll get to them.
I'm lucky enough that most I work with will work with me, gentlemen to be fair, but some would get short and hang up the phone because I can give them an answer to when I'll be there. Maybe that's why most contractors lie so much.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever lied to a customer in my life.
I do get short notice calls about jobs and while it is kind of annoying anyone that wants a contractor at a drop of a hat isn't going to get one anyway.
I like my job and I like dealing with the people I do it just has its challenges like anything else.
 
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