For years now, the cost of actually building a shed and what the Department suggests are the costs have been out of kilter.

At times, Martin Merrick estimates they could be up to 30% out of line. I don’t understand why a rolling range of costs is not established to keep prices real.

A farmer only decides to make a significant investment like a shed or a parlour a small number of times in a career. If the cost is 30% out and if unplanned contingency costs happen, as they normally do, it means the cost of the job could be 50% higher than what was planned.

The Department is recently on the record suggesting that reference costs would be updated in 2025. To put it mildly, it’s not before time, but more importantly it should be looking at how to establish a framework so that this gap doesn’t materialise again.

All farmers want is fairness and that prices follow the market up and down depending on what is happening.