A costly spring is turning into a costly summer for farmers. The advent of the silage season sees diesel prices hit 75c/l (including VAT). This represents a 13c/l hike on 2017 silage season prices, an increase of over 20%.

It’s not all bad news. Silage wrap prices are comparable with 2017, and fertiliser prices have eased in recent weeks as merchants try to move on large volumes of stock.

However, if oil prices continue to rise, that is likely to eventually affect the price of nitrogen and plastics.

Contractors are reporting increased diesel costs of up to €500/day, and are stressing the need for prompt payment from farmers as the silage season ramps up.

While cashflow on farms has been hammered by the expensive winter across all sectors, banks continue to state that they are not receiving more requests than usual for lending facilities.

Merchant credit lines have been stretched to breaking point in recent months.

With the winter workload finally eased, farmers may now focus on their finances and pay outstanding bills.