Not long now, until the ‘big machinery’ is rolled out. Before a single blade of grass is cut, it can be predicted with complete certainty that the 2022 silage season will be one of the most costly ever.
Yet, the show must and will go on. The good news is that the ‘first cut’ looks like being a bumper crop, due mainly to excellent growing conditions.
CONTRACTORS READY FOR THE OFF
This week, contractors throughout The Avondhu catchment are carrying out inspections to their machinery in advance of what’s expected to be an extremely busy silage cutting season.
Granted the season isn’t as long as it once was, however, the pressure on individuals and machines is as intense as ever.
FARMERS PICKING UP THE TAB
Farmers will have to dig a bit deeper into their pockets this year, but, there’s little they can do about it.
12 months ago, the height of our problems was a virus, little did anyone think that early in 2022 tanks would roll across the border of a sovereign country and that full scale warfare would return to Europe after almost 80 years of relative peace. Uncertain times indeed.
THE FAMOUS ‘CHALLENGES’
The price of diesel is right up there, as is the availability of labour. Skilled men and women to drive machinery are scare. If you can get good staff, you must look after them – these individuals are themselves faced with rising costs and they will also be looking for a few more euro to ‘cover their expenses’.
STAY SAFE
A lot of big machinery is coming on to our roads in the coming weeks. All road users need to be aware of this. Needless to say, the drivers of these big machines also need to exercise maximum care.
Silage season 2022 is coming with a high financial cost, while this can be absorbed, what no one wants is a personal cost, in terms of serious injury or worse. The message is stay alert out there and stay safe.
