A FERMANAGH agricultural contractor has said "crippling overheads" are making it "harder and harder" to run a viable business. 

John Wiggins from Clabby said that input costs to carry out his services, such as mowing,  baling and slurrying, have "basically doubled" in the last few years. 

Costs include diesel, repairs and insurance, all of which have been subject to sharp rises since the pandemic. 

"Overheads are crippling at the moment," Mr. Wiggins said.

"It's a balancing act trying to keep on top of the diesel bill, repayments and insurance. Input costs have basically doubled over the last few years. 

"Insurance is easily up between 20 and 30 per cent. Any piece of machinery you go to replace has doubled, but you aren't getting double for the job you are doing."

Mr. Wiggins admits that because of these factors, running a contracting business is getting "harder and harder". 

"Things have got an awful lot harder, and an awful lot tighter in recent years," he said. "What the reason was, I don't know. But the pandemic seemed to be a turning point.

"Unfortunately, the financial pressures that farmers are under are really trickling down. If they (farmers) are struggling to get money, then you are struggling to get money in. It's a vicious cycle."

In addition to contracting, Mr. Wiggins runs a flock of sheep on the farm. This enterprise has also been hit by rising costs. 

He explained: "Fertiliser and feed have both went up, but what you are getting for your produce isn't where it should be.

"If it wasn't for the subsidies (the Single Farm Payment) farmers wouldn't be fit to survive. This is keeping things afloat."

On the farm, Mr. Wiggins is assisted by his daughter, Karla, who is a recent graduate of Greenmount Agricultural College. She is also a professional relief milker for farmers. 

But despite her clear passion for dairying, Mr. Wiggins feels that rising entry costs has placed barriers when it comes to setting up a milking herd of her own on the farm. 

"My daughter has a great interest in dairying, and is doing over 10 relief milkings per week," he continued. 

"She would love to get into dairying, without a doubt, but with the cost of things, there's no way we could dream of doing that. It could take an investment of half a million pounds.

"It's no surprise that the average age of farmers is over 50. Young people are being priced out of it. 

"I do feel that if they want to incentivise young farmers, they need to provide more support. Young people need to be assured that there is a future in the industry."