Four up and one down: this is how the costs played for the rise in prices in agricultural and forage work

To determine the adjustment suggestion, either downward or upward, Five factors are usually taken into account.

• One, also the only one that has moved downward in the last six months, is the average value of the dollar in pesos, an indicator in which there was a 5.2% drop.

The rest of the factors, all four, adjusted upwards.

• One of these four is that of the wages of workers in contractor companies, which measured in dollars rose 9.3%.
• Fuel, another key cost, in dollars increased 29.5% in the last six months.
• In the case of the value of new machinery, there was an increase of 8%.
• Finally, a 4% increase in the price of utility vehicles was considered.

The new suggested average prices for each labor, agricultural or fodder (you can see the complete table in this link) consider, in the detailed scenario, the investment in machinery, its wear and maintenance, repairs, salaries, fuel and a reasonable profit margin for the contractorRostan explained.

Although there was an exchange on the subject, the parameter of the hectares of use for each machinery remained unchanged: “The annual use model has been maintained, this time there was a lot of discussion about it, because for example in the case of the harvest there is a high load of machinery use at a short time of the year, which leads to fewer annual hectares. ; it is true that we tried to adjust that, but for now we keep it unchanged, ”he commented.

The assembly, the first to be carried out in person for members after the local health emergency due to the covid pandemictook place at the Casa de los Rurales, in Mercedes, at the headquarters of the Soriano Rural Association (ARS), where CUSA operates.

Agricultural tasks have a six-monthly adjustment (the next one will be specified in the February 2023 assembly) and forage one annual, which always happens in August. There were times when the indicators considered determined downward adjustments and in others they gave rise to suggestions for increases.

Direct sowing, in fields of Soriano.

Register of applied agrochemicals

Another issue considered in the assembly was, he said, the good actions of CUSA in order to avoid the intention that the contractor, like the producer, is responsible for raising the information on the applications of agrochemical products.

“We moved a lot with the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), we worked quite a bit together, other chambers joined that and it ended up being decided that for one more year everything remains in that passing that information is voluntary for the contractor and the producer; we consider that the contractor has many other things to take care of and that this, the registration, should actually be done by the producer”.

“It is not that we are lazy, the contractor must dedicate himself to doing well the things that he knows how to do and must, for which his service is hiredwhich is the task of properly carrying out the applications that the producer demands”, he reflected, therefore, he reiterated, “the information corresponds to the producer or the producer’s agronomist”.

Transport of machinery on routes

Another issue that was considered is that of advancing in managing, before the corresponding authorities, some flexibility in the mandatory nature of transporting machinery along national routes with custody, when it comes to small equipment, no more than four meters wide, in distances that are sometimes short to move a windrower or baler, for example.

“Sometimes the contractor does not have the personnel for those small transfers, from field to field very close, or the service charge is very low for the task to be done and they do not give the accounts to cover the cost of custody,” he explained.

Tractor with loader and mixer, in a dairy in Colonia.