Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Spraying contractors face rising costs

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Rural spray contractors are warning farmers to expect to pay more for their services this spring as they struggle to keep a lid on rising costs.
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Rural spray contractors are warning farmers to expect to pay more for their services this spring as they struggle to keep a lid on rising costs.

Contractors are facing a triple whammy of increased chemical prices, several-fold hikes in shipping charges and rising labour costs, Rural Contractors New Zealand vice president Clinton Carroll says.

“Many of us have been stocking up on chemicals, basically to keep the costs down and secure it for our clients. At our business we’ve brought in thousands of litres well ahead of the time it’s needed,” Carroll, who runs spraying business Wairarapa Weedsprayers, said.

Like many spraying contractors, Carroll also only adds a small margin to chemical costs to keep costs down for farmers.

Even so, with chemical and freight costs now rising steeply, the effort to hold costs back from farmers could not be sustained indefinitely.

Like most sectors, contractors were also under further pressure trying to recruit and train workers and meeting higher costs for existing staff.

“Everyone’s having to pay more to keep their staff. We are all in the same boat,’’ he said.

He says farmers need to know that they are facing higher costs from rural spray contractors so they can plan. Some may cut spray schedules or switch crops.

With rural contractors facing severe labour shortages, he says any reduction in demand might not be entirely unwelcome. However, he did not see much prospect of farmers doing their own spraying, other than those already set up for spraying.

With smaller farms than many nations, NZ was a high user of rural contractors.

“Spraying contractors often have $250,000 or more tied up in specialised equipment. It doesn’t make sense for our farmers to invest in machinery used a few times a year on relatively small blocks,” he said.

Farmers also need to be aware of possible delays in some chemicals given shipping schedules being variable. Delays of four to six weeks are already being experienced by spraying contractors to obtain chemicals not already held in their own storage areas..

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