The harvest is coming. What are the rates for grain and rapeseed harvesting services this season?
- What rates appear in offers for mowing rapeseed and cereals?
- What influences the final price of the service?
Prices of agricultural services. It won’t be cheap this harvest
The harvest is fast approaching. In the first tranche, of course, barley will be mowed. In some regions of the country, they are not ready for harvesting, and the start of the harvest is only delayed by the weather. However, it is enough for high temperatures to return and some of the plantations can be mown. What are the prices of services for the upcoming harvest?
Prices vary locally, although lower rates are relatively rare. There are offers to harvest cereals or rapeseed for approximately PLN 380 – 400/ha, but these are single rates. The most common amounts are PLN 500-600/ha. The rate of PLN 500-550/ha appears most often in offers.
Rates at this level are nothing new. In fact, we have had such price ranges since 2022. Then the operating costs increased significantly. It is true that the prices of grain and rapeseed have dropped significantly since then, but the cost of operating machines remains at a similar level. We must take into account that grain prices and service prices are two different things. It will not be cheap, because apart from agricultural produce, every other branch of the economy is affected by inflation factors.
Service providers make it clear that there is no chance for lower prices due to the high cost of operating the machines. Parts, service, fuel – all these elements make up the final price of the service.
– For less than PLN 500 per hectare, there is no point in leaving, it’s a waste of the machine – says one of the service providers. He points out that by mowing 500 hectares during the season, he can earn about PLN 250,000. But at the same time, the fuel itself costs about PLN 50,000 – PLN 70,000. Theoretically, PLN 180,000 – 200,000 remains, but as he emphasizes, from this amount you still have to pay the operator and the service itself. this is twice as much as you have to pay to the operator. In addition, there is the installment for the combine harvester.
Operating a combine harvester is expensive
Of course, it may seem expensive, because in the case of, for example, triticale, you will have to pay practically a ton of grain for the service. Sometimes you can hear voices of dissatisfaction that the combine harvester will not burn fuel for this amount. But fuel is only part of the cost. New combine harvesters require expensive service and equally expensive spare parts. In the case of older combines, parts, although slightly cheaper, also cost money. It is enough to perform a basic inspection of the combine harvester before the harvest, replace even individual elements of the machine, and it turns out that sometimes a considerable sum is accumulated.
Farmers often do not count their own remuneration, but you also need to add the wage for the combine operator. Here you have to take into account amounts of PLN 40-60/hour. There are also settlements per hectare at the level of 10% of the price of the service per hectare (e.g. mowing service costs PLN 500/ha, of which PLN 50 for each mown hectare is received by the operator).
Of course, the rates are slightly lower for large areas. The cost of the service is also influenced by the distance from the field. Let us add that hourly rates for mowing services are now rare.
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