Given the increases in fuel prices along with increasing machinery prices and other costs it was almost inevitable that contractor charges would increase for the 2026 season. The latest survey results from the British contractor association, the NAAC show just how much those increases have been, albeit based on a diesel price of 70p per litre.
Commenting, Jill Hewitt, NAAC CEO, said, ‘This year we asked members whether they plan to put up their prices to reflect increasing costs. The average increase is 4.84%, although there was a wide variation of predicted rises from 0–15%.
However, the professional service provided by a contractor remains a high priority, ensuring customers can be confident their assets are protected, whether that is cropping, livestock, soil or the environment. This comes at a price, and 2026 rates have generally increased to take account of inflation and employment costs. Transparent, well-calculated costs on both sides will help maintain strong partnerships and ensure both parties benefit.’
The survey is intended as a guide only, based on responses from NAAC members. Actual charges may vary considerably depending on region, soil type, distance travelled, size of contract, type of equipment used, and amount of product applied. Contractors may also have individual arrangements with customers regarding fuel (for example, a separate fuel surcharge, or fuel provided on-farm).
| NAAC Contracting Prices Survey 2026 | |||
| Soil preparation | Cost per hectare | Cost per acre | Cost per hour |
| Ploughing: | |||
| Light land | £80.02 | £32.38 | |
| Heavy land | £87.82 | £35.54 | |
| Add for furrow press on plough | £11.53 | £4.67 | |
| Deep ploughing (over 30cm) | £103.72 | £41.98 | |
| Rotovating (ploughed land/grass) | £102.34 | £41.42 | |
| Sub-soiling/Flat lifting | £81.86 | £33.13 | |
| Mole-ploughing: | |||
| – Single leg | £109.58 | £44.35 | |
| – Twin leg | £120.15 | £48.63 | |
| Stubble raking | £29.74 | £12.03 | |
| Disc harrowing | £64.31 | £26.03 | |
| Power harrowing: | |||
| – Shallow/ seedbed prep | £71.41 | £28.90 | |
| – Deep/ on ploughing | £81.87 | £33.13 | |
| Spring-tine harrowing | £47.43 | £19.19 | |
| Pressing: (Rexius twin/Cultipress or similar) | £61.15 | £24.75 | |
| One-pass tillage train (solo/discordon etc) | £83.66 | £33.86 | |
| Rolling: | |||
| – flat (grassland) | £35.19 | £14.25 | |
| – ring (seedbeds) | £27.70 | £11.21 | |
| Bed tilling | £303.00 | £122.62 | |
| Chain harrowing | £34.06 | £13.78 | |
| Inter row hoeing (camera guided) | £54.36 | £22.00 | |
| Drilling | Cost per hectare | Cost per acre | Cost per hour |
| Cereal drilling: | |||
| – conventional (Vaderstad/Sprinter etc) | £67.11 | £27.16 | |
| – combi-drilling (powerharrow drill/combination) | £86.13 | £34.86 | |
| – direct drilling (tine/disc/strip) | 77.69 | £31.44 | |
| Rape drilling with flat-lift/subsoiler | 96.74 | £39.15 | |
| Sugar beet drilling | 75.67 | £30.62 | |
| Potato planting | 248.55 | £100.59 | |
| Carrot/parsnip/onion precision drilling | 98.84 | £40.00 | |
| Maize precision drilling | 60.48 | £24.47 | |
| Maize drilling under plastic | 163.08 | £66.00 | |
| Grass seed – broadcast | 35.93 | £14.55 | |
| Grass seed – drilling with harrow | 51.35 | £20.78 | |
| Grass seed – cross drilling (per pass) | 69.57 | £28.15 | |
| Application | Cost per hectare | Cost per acre | Cost per hour |
| Fertiliser spreading: | |||
| – spinning disc | £16.25 | £6.57 | |
| – extra for variable rate application | £7.00 | £2.83 | |
| Liquid fertiliser | £16.85 | £6.82 | |
| Drone fertiliser spreading | £45.00 | £18.21 | |
| Crop spraying | £16.97 | £6.87 | |
| Grassland/pasture/paddock spraying | £25.79 | £10.44 | |
| ATV spraying | £54.60 | ||
| Slug-pelleting | £11.42 | £4.62 | |
| Avadex application | £19.83 | £8.03 | |
| Weed wiping | £75.00 | ||
| Lime – spreading ONLY | *£7.47 per ton | ||
| Slurry and Farmyard Manure | Cost per tonne | Cost per cubic meter | Cost per hour |
| FYM spreading – tractor and rear discharge spreader | £3.96 | £72.27 | |
| FYM spreading – tractor and side discharge spreader | £5.00 | £72.27 | |
| Loading and spreading chicken litter | £6.31 | ||
| Loading and spreading FYM, Compost | £3.80 | ||
| Loading and spreading digestate fibre | £4.94 | ||
| Loading shovel | £73.90 | ||
| Slurry spreading – tanker trailing shoe or dribble bar | £75.75 | ||
| Slurry spreading – umbilical | £2.27 | £145.25 | |
| – extra pump | £75.37 | ||
| Slurry Separating Service (with capacity of + \-100m3 per hour) | £145 | ||
| Hedges, boundaries and forestry | Cost per metre run | Cost per hour | |
| Hedge cutting – flail | £56.07 | ||
| Hedge cutting – saw blade | £74.29 | ||
| Hedge cutting – Reciprocating Knife | £61.50 | ||
| Hedge laying | £19.00 | ||
| 360 Excavator (7.5t) and tree shear | £77.14 | ||
| Verge bank mowing | £59.78 | ||
| Fence erection (with materials) | |||
| – post and 4 Barb | £10.65 | ||
| – post, stock net & 2 Barb | £12.57 | ||
| – post and 3 rails | £27.17 | ||
| Harvesting | Cost per hectare | Cost per acre | Cost per hour |
| Combining cereals | £122.25 | £49.47 | |
| Extra for straw chopper on combine | £12.79 | £5.17 | |
| Oilseed rape harvesting | |||
| – Combining out of windrow | £128.15 | £51.86 | |
| – direct combining | £122.24 | £49.47 | |
| Swathing rape | £63.00 | £25.50 | |
| Combining peas/beans | £126.42 | £51.16 | |
| Combining grain maize | £162.24 | £65.66 | |
| Grain carting to barn | £62.92 | ||
| Flail topping potatoes | £90.00 | £36.42 | |
| Potato harvesting only | £800.35 | £323.90 | |
| Potato harvesting and carting | £1235.48 | £500.00 | |
| Potato – de-stoning land | £345.63 | £139.88 | |
| Sugar beet harvesting – harvesting only | £345.94 | £140.00 | |
| Topping margins/ flail mowing | £52.65 | £21.31 | |
| Grass – topping | £48.14 | £19.48 | £68.85 |
| Grass – mowing | £38.14 | £15.43 | |
| Grass – tedding | £23.89 | £9.67 | |
| Grass – raking | £24.45 | £9.89 | |
| Forage harvesting only | £84.16 | £34.06 | £345.00 |
| Whole crop forage harvesting, cart (3 trailers) & clamping | £210.45 | £85.17 | |
| Complete service – mow, rake, forage harvest, cart (3 trailers) and clamp | £197.64 | £79.98 | |
| Maize harvesting incl. carting (3 trailers) and clamping | £218.55 | £88.48 | |
| Extra trailer for carting silage/maize/whole crop | £63.58 | ||
| Forage wagon/hour | £135 | ||
| Baling* | Cost per bale | ||
| Small conventional | £1.18 | ||
| 80cm x 90cm | £4.80 | ||
| 120cm × 70cm | £6.01 | ||
| 120cm x 90cm | £7.52 | ||
| 120cm × 130cm | £9.00 | ||
| Round 120cm | £4.27 | ||
| Round 150cm | £4.78 | ||
| *note these prices may vary with bale density | |||
| Bale-wrapping: | |||
| Round 120cm (6 layers of plastic) | £7.33 | ||
| Round 120cm (4 layers of plastic) | £6.33 | ||
| Round 120cm (without plastic) | £3.33 | ||
| Square 80cm x 90cm (6 layers of plastic) | £7.28 | ||
| Square 120cm × 70cm (6 layers of plastic) | £8.90 | ||
| Square 120cm × 70cm (4 layers of plastic) | £8.00 | ||
| Square120cm × 70cm (without plastic) | £3.63 | ||
| Square 120 x 90cm (6 layers of plastic) | £8.57 | ||
| Combi baling and wrapping (6 layers of plastic) | £10.96 | ||
| Bale Chasing (per bale) | £3.56 | ||
| Mobile Feed | Cost per tonne | Cost per hour | |
| Mobile feed mixing and processing from | £32.00 | ||
| Crimping | £17.63 | ||
| Straw Grinding/Processing | £21.20 | £149 | |
| Tractor hire | Cost per hour | ||
| Tractor + post knocker + man | £57.66 | ||
| Ditching using 180 degree digger | £53.18 | ||
| Ditching using 360 degree digger | £57.00 | ||
| Drain jetting | £74.00 | ||
| Tractor + man 100-150hp | £51.98 | ||
| Tractor + man 150 – 220 hp | £58.63 | ||
| Tractor + man 220 – 300 hp | £70.50 | ||
| Tractor + man 300 hp | £92.50 | ||
| Additional charge for trailer | £15.85 | ||
| Forklift/Telehandler + man | £59.42 | ||
| Livestock Services | Cost per head | ||
| Sheep shearing | |||
| ewe | £1.93 | ||
| ram | £3.87 | ||
| crutching | £0.90 | ||
| Sheep dipping *note there may be an additional charge for used dip removal. | £1.60 | ||
| Specialist | Cost per hour | ||
| Snow ploughing/clearing | £82.25 | ||
| Labour only | £21.07 | ||
| Chainsaw (with operator) | £35.36 | ||
| Soil Sampling | £27.50 | ||
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save 47%.
