Agri-contractors fork out €1,000 extra a week for fuel this silage season

FILLING a tractor’s tank that holds 300 litres of diesel is costing an agricultural contractor €150 more in 2022 than 2021.

Diesel is now 50 c/L, an increase of 70 per cent from last year. And, as silage season throws-in, agri-contractors could be filling their tractor’s tanks on a daily basis, particularly if they’re mowing grass or agitating slurry.

“It’s €360 to fill a 300-litre tractor with diesel, whereas it cost €210 last year. That’s an increase of €150,” Barry Cunningham, of Cunningham Agri Contractors in Barnaderg, told the crowd gathered on Stephen Canavan’s farm in Ballyglunin last week.

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