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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Cost of a crop from start to finish ?

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Real Green

10-24-2006 12:40:55




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I realize this is a pretty tough question depending on all sorts of factors from soil to bugs to weather, etc, but how much would it cost to prepare, seed, and take off a crop of barley or wheat from say 80 acres of flat farmland using vintage (40's - 50's) tractors and machinery? Is there sort of a rule-of-thumb as for costs per acre? A guy can rough figure out what the income might be for selling it, but who about the input costs? Can anyone help out with that, even a rough estimate would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

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jmixigo

10-24-2006 20:39:28




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to Real Green, 10-24-2006 12:40:55  
The cost of fuel has a huge impact. The tractor in use at the time every body figgers on, but the spreader truck, the fuel delivery truck, the tire man's truck, an a host of other support vehicles all use fuel. It's cheaper for em to come 7 miles than 37 miles. This farm land, did it make a crop last year? If not how long has it been? The longer it's been the more it's gonna cost. There is no standard fertility level, or pest factor. Chemical cost will vary widely across the farm belt because of this. The cost per acre will drop some as the number of acres goes up, it cost less to keep on goeing than to run up the road to the next patch.
Last but not least, jus how smart are ya? The feller who knows how much throttle to use an which gear to pull in can save 40 % of sumbody else's fuel cost. If he knows when he don't need to replow or disc or harrow or can skip a step an NOT lose yeild because of it, he can save sum money. He'll know which seed brand an sepcies varity will do better in his soil, an he'll know when to save a buck cause some seed does great but ain't worth what it cost.
Some of this ain't what ya asked, but any body can make a buck farming. The trick is to make more than ya spent. The big difference between the feller at the bank makin a deposit and the one lookin fer another loan, is how smart did he farm.

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supergrumpy

10-25-2006 07:35:10




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to jmixigo, 10-24-2006 20:39:28  
AMEN!!!!



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PhilcaseinWPa

10-24-2006 13:50:52




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to Real Green, 10-24-2006 12:40:55  
Dave,
If you just want to know about what costs will be you can use the custom rates as a starting point. I'm not in the grain business but one thing that a lot of small guys in the vegetable business don't consider is what their time is worth. You may be able to operate your machinery at $x per acre and can figure fertilizer and spray inputs pretty accurately but if you don't consider what your time is worth what you make on paper and what you put in your pocket can be way different. If it's just something for fun well then your time isn't really important. I hear people pay well over $100 to play golf for 4 hours.

Phil

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Dave from MN

10-24-2006 13:18:15




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to Real Green, 10-24-2006 12:40:55  
Start a spreadsheet,just get er done, keep track of all cost, end of year break down to cost per acre. If you made a profit,or not, look at your cost and see what you could reduce or eliminate. Continue as you go and ask advice on this website or your county extension agent( I prefer this sight), and keep data- weather yeilds-fertlizer application etc.,etc. Well at least thats my plan, good helpful neighbors helps. Are you asking for financial planning or just to get an idea if it's worth it?

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John (MO)

10-24-2006 13:11:33




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to Real Green, 10-24-2006 12:40:55  
University of Missouri listed these as the average prices for custom work, per acre, back in 2003.
Moldboard Plow $14.30
Chisel Plow $10.00
Finish Disk $8.91
Drill Wheat $9.97
Deliver & Spread Lime $5.13
Spray $5.42
Combine Wheat $21.28

Total cost to custom crop, per acre:
Corn $73.31
Soybeans $62.94
They didn`t list wheat.

Remember these are 2003 prices, some prices have gone way up since then.

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John (C-IL)

10-24-2006 20:10:35




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to John (MO), 10-24-2006 13:11:33  
Hey John, I'd like 500 tons of that lime hauled and spread. Around here it's $18 a ton for the lime, hauling and spreading. The lime costs about $6-8 per ton depending on the quarry. So.... that would mean that spreading and hauling would be from $20 to $30 per acre.

Now, wheat is not a big lime user because of lower nitrogen use. But nitrogen will probably cost $25 to $35 and acre. Seed costs would be $18 to $36 per acre (public vs. Pioneer). Insurance $5 and acre.

SWAG $100 an acre for inputs and machinery PLUS labor and land costs. If you have 80 bu what at $4 = $320 income so you have $220 left for L & LC. If the bottom falls out of the wheat market and yields are lower you are pretty thin on margin.

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John (MO)

10-25-2006 05:58:05




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to John (C-IL), 10-24-2006 20:10:35  
I don`t believe any of those prices included seed, lime, fert., or spray. Only the labor and equipment to do the jobs. That was how I took it at least. And, they were 3 years old.



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JT

10-24-2006 13:30:17




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to John (MO), 10-24-2006 13:11:33  
On top of these costs, you also have to figure the cost of seed,chemicals, fuel, trucking, grain drying, storage, etc. We have guys around here, central IL, cash renting at $200.00 per acre, and it has to be hard to see where they make any money at that kind of cash rent.



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big hunter

10-24-2006 12:56:02




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 Re: Cost of a crop from start to finish ? in reply to Real Green, 10-24-2006 12:40:55  
don't know the answer but....you need to know how much ground your tractor and implement can prepare, ( I guess acres per hour?) how much does seed cost, test the soil and that will tell you how much and what kind of fertilizer is needed if any, how long it will take to sow, what the cost would be to hire out to harvest or to rent a machine (unless you have your own) time to bale the straw, what your time is worth through this whole process of working the crop. I know your looking for a cost per acre....like I said I don't know, but if you figure out all of these things you could come close....maybe

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