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Hired labour rate

4K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  CRToney 
#1 ·
I've been out of this for awhile so ( prairie provinces ) what is everyone paying $/h for drill operators etc ?
 
#7 ·
Yes I have a friend ( the kind that's you need corroborated info ) here that works for a farmer and was claiming $35 which I though was ridiculous but it's sounding like it might not be . I will try to do more research here but it's sometimes hard to get the truth as the farmers tell you low$ and workers say high$ .
 
#8 ·
My son is an excellent experienced self and job taught mechanic. He put NH3 kits on and worked on big trucks for yrs here. It would cost me $100 an hr at a shop to work on my drill etc. I pay him $65/hr when fixing and $35 operating. He just tells me what to get and does it perfectly. That kind of help is worth every penny and more. 0 supervision is needed. If you can afford equipment to farm you can afford good help to operate and fix it. When you get a great worker you pay for it no matter what it takes to keep them. A neighbor here offered over $40 with full benefits for a yr round worker. When you pay that good a guy values his job when everything else around is $25/hr. Our RM pays grader men $28/hr roughly. Fuel truck drivers close to the same. Things are going to have to change because anyone worth having is going to get taken by farmers here. A grader requires skilled operators to run with knowledge to do a good job. A good grader man makes a world of difference and should be paid for doing so. Why wouldn't you pay great wages to run new equipment which is ridiculously expensive to get good work. That same individual could run junk and still do a great job. New iron and a poorly paid operator doesn't make good roads. They got to want to be there. Pay good, fire the bad and eventually you will get a winner.
 
#10 ·
2600 bu of canola gets you a $65,000 worker these days. Or 52 acres of 50 bu canola. Some guys farm many 1000's of acres. That's cheap help and tax deductible to boot so costing you less realistically. The days of us old guys picking rocks by hand and roots for $4.25/hr as a kid are long gone. You won't find anyone to do that these days. Just look around at the rising cost of everything. People want a house and food and a vehicle and food for their kids like everyone else.
 
#15 ·
Lots of people will this year will gross $1250 this yr somewhere with 50 bu canola. Hell wheat is dam near $15. Fuel is tripled. Fertilizer has doubled. Parts and equipment values have soared. Land prices are ridiculous. Keeping good help is going to cost too. I don't require 5 hired men for my 2000 acres. My youngest home from school can help out a bit in busy season and my oldest I pay takes lots of time off and weekends over the summer. He spends his winters logging pipeline right of ways etc in Alta. I run my butt off long hrs 7 days a week in the busy season to get the crop in. I don't want more acres.
 
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