Total machinery costs have risen by 47% from 2020 to 2025 on Irish tillage farms, according to Trevor Donnellan of Teagasc.

Speaking at the Teagasc Crops Forum on Thursday, he commented that machinery-related cost inflation has been severe in recent years since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022.

Total machinery-related costs per hectare are lower for larger farms, which reflects the economies of scale in place for these farms, according to Trevor.

Farms above 50ha had total machinery costs of just over €500/ha in 2025, while 20ha to 30ha farms had much higher machinery costs, reaching nearly €700/ha.

Lower contracting charges

These farms also surprisingly had lower contracting charges compared with larger farmers, but farms under 20ha in size still retained the highest contractor charges.

However, lower contracting charges for 20ha to 30ha farms were offset by higher machinery depreciation and machinery operation costs per hectare.

When it comes to diesel prices, Donnellan explained that “we are now in another spike situation” since the tensions began to rise in the Middle East earlier this year.

The situation is having a significant effect on the cost of diesel for farmers, which subsequently increases the cost to grow crops in Ireland.