The current fuel crisis is bringing one question into focus: can Irish farming afford to have a pit silage harvesting service at today’s high costs?

It is now clear that there is a fuel-price driven crisis in the provision of pit silage services in Ireland in 2026 due to increased fuel, lubrication oil and AdBlue costs.

But there are other issues impacting of the affordability of the service. It is just now that the massive 73% fuel cost increase has become the more obvious tipping point.

Many silage contractors who provide pit silage harvesting services have probably known for some years that this operating cost crisis was looming. In the past 10 years costs have been increasing for silage contractors at a rate that far exceeded national inflation rates.

These cost increases have been in the form of machine purchase costs, maintenance costs, labour costs and now a huge hike in fuel and lubrication oil costs.

The simple answer to contractor cost increases, from many not involved in the sector, is to pass on the costs to your customers, simply charge more for your services.

Contractor charges have migrated upwards by 3% to 4% per year over the past 10 years, but this level of increase is no longer enough. What level is enough and what is affordable for Irish farmers?

The silage contractors have bridged that gap between their rising costs and the need to be competitive, by increasing machine output and becoming more efficient in the field. Extra output and efficiency always come at a cost to the silage contractor.

A modern high output self-propelled silage harvesting outfit will have an investment cost coming close on €2 million to put it on the road in 2026.

That includes a self-propelled harvester, high-output mowing system, tedders and rakes, four tractors and trailers and a high-output loader working in the silage pit. This type of machine system also has relatively high machine depreciation rates, especially for harvesters, mower and rakes, due to the nature of the work high output-harvesting wet or damp grass over long operating hours. Combine harvester depreciation rates are significantly lower than those of self-propelled silage harvesters, due to the nature of the work being done.

There are in the region of 600 to 700 self-propelled silage harvesters in use in Ireland with a typical replacement rate of 50 machines per year, between new and second-hand imports. That converts to a lifecycle of about 10 to 12 years, which is far lower than the lifecycle of a combine harvester.

The operating costs for the self-propelled silage harvesting system for pit silage have also soared in recent years. The additional fuel cost for such an outfit at current green agri diesel prices of €1.70 per litre, is now an extra €2,855 per day, based on filling the fuel tanks of all of the machines once a day. A modern self-propelled silage harvester tank capacity is 1,200 litres to 1,400 litres.

Given an achievable harvesting output on a consistent basis of 100 acres of silage harvested per day, that equates to an additional cost of €28.55 per acre of silage harvested. Add that as a fuel surcharge to current charges of €200 per acre, including VAT, which will push the cost to almost €230 per acre. These are the recent important fuel-related cost increases for the Irish pit silage contracting sector.

All of this comes against the background of a shortening silage harvesting season. Up to now, the advice from Teagasc has been focused more on silage bulk than quality, so larger single cuts of silage are preferred to the multiple silage harvests promoted in other countries. This advice coupled with advice to aim for silage harvesting on a single week in May, has shortened the season.

Silage contractors can only satisfy customers’ short season needs with more machine output. There is little policy about who harvests the silage – the policy is more about getting the lowest price for silage harvesting than the logistics of getting a successful silage harvest on many farms.

For too long it has been taken for granted that Irish silage contractors will continue to provide cost-effective services to Irish farmers without any Government support. That bubble has now burst. The need for change is being forced so by the huge increases in agri diesel, lubrication oil and AdBlue costs.

Is pit silage affordable and is there an option?

Against the background of high operating costs for self-propelled silage harvesting system, the questions then become as follows:

Is a contractor-sustainable silage cost at a level that is affordable for Irish farmers at their farm output levels and given output commodity price reductions? And if it is not, what affordable winter-feeding option is available to Irish livestock farmers in feeding their animals? These are policy decisions at the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine level that demand high level input which includes the role of the agricultural contractor.

There is an urgency to solving this issue, because until now agricultural contractors who provide pit silage services have been the silent partners in the process.

That silence is now no longer sustainable.

Targeted policy support for the agricultural contractor sector

A recent thesis study carried out by Robert Handcock at Dundalk Institute of Technology, revealed that agricultural contractors play a crucial role in Irish agriculture, with high levels of reliance across primary farm enterprises, particularly in dairy farming.

Robert found that farmers mainly use contractors for timeliness of operation and to avoid investment in expensive machinery, while contractor-farmer interactions are shaped by trust-based relationships.

He has identified that agricultural contractors face continued challenges related to labour shortages, rising costs, poor recognition and lack of policy inclusion.

Robert’s research showed that opportunities were identified in contractor-delivered precision agriculture technology and machinery investment.

However, these were dependent on targeted policy and financial support. His research highlighted the need for improved recognition of agricultural contractors by government and their inclusion in targeted policy support schemes to ensure the sector’s long-term viability.

Robert Handcock’s research was inspired by his first-hand experience of agricultural contracting, having grown up on a dairy farm that also operated an agricultural contracting business.

This background gave him a valuable insight into the sector’s contribution to Irish farming and rural communities, as well as the challenges contractor’s encounter.

Robert’s work to evaluate the role and impact of agricultural contracting in Ireland, has shown that agricultural contracting is increasingly recognised as a central component of Irish agriculture, providing essential machinery, labour, and expertise at a time of growing pressures around costs, labour availability and environmental sustainability.

Robert’s work has shown that, in Ireland, agricultural contractors are the main source of mechanisation for grassland enterprises, harvesting over 80% of grass silage. This reliance highlights their central role in Ireland’s agriculture sector.

Despite their importance, Robert found that the available literature reveals a lack of up-to-date academic research on agricultural contracting in Ireland. This gap is especially significant given the sector’s current challenges, including labour shortages, rising operational costs, and increasing environmental and policy pressures, he found.

Robert Handcock’s research found that without greater inclusion of agricultural contractors within Irish agricultural policy frameworks and support schemes, agricultural contractors may remain constrained in their ability to deliver sustainable services into the future.