Minimum cost of cropping

[Warp Land Farmer]

Assuming no notice is taken of wages, overhead, rent, depreciation etc etc what is the simple direct cost of growing say winter wheat per acre?

£seed + £fertiliser + £sprays + £fuel?

 

[Steevo]

Per hectare:

£50 + £200-250 + £200-250 + ?

Just some rough figures to start things off.

 

[Brisel]

Variable costs are about £200/acre without a major grass weed problem. The marginal costs of overheads are harder to estimate. Fuel, spares, extra overtime? Thinking of a bit of fallow perhaps?

To estimate fuel use per acre would require some basic information on soil type & tillage policy.

Edit: My fuel use for the 2013 harvest was £26/acre. My operations costs (cultivations, harvesting, application but not drying & storage) were £115/acre based on CAAV standard rates for own cost levels. That is an average, not the marginal cost of a few more or a few less acres. John Nix suggests that fuel accounts for approx half of operations costs which differs from mine considerably.

 

[warksfarmer]

Assuming no notice is taken of wages, overhead, rent, depreciation etc etc what is the simple direct cost of growing say winter wheat per acre?

£seed + £fertiliser + £sprays + £fuel?

Under £45/tonne for seed fert and sprays (Fuel not included).

Thats total input costs added up by eventual yield over the weighbridge or sold off farm. Lowest seen was for spring barley in 2013 which was £35/tonne but it yielded exceptionally well for what was spent on it and winter wheat was £38/tonne.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Wheat per acre

Drilling £20
Seed (recleaned and royalty) £13
Pre-em spray plus roundup pre drilling £8
Urea 150 units £22
Combining/Spraying/Carting/Drying £50

Leaving fungicide costs and another herbicide depending on the situation in spring. P and K?

Can see it being £50 a tonne in a way (but my drilling doesn't really cost me £20/acre, my yield may be more than 3.5t etc. etc.) but the aim to be able to this repeatably.

 

[glasshouse]

Wheat per acre

Drilling £20
Seed (recleaned and royalty) £13
Pre-em spray plus roundup pre drilling £8
Urea 150 units £22
Combining/Spraying/Carting/Drying £50

Leaving fungicide costs and another herbicide depending on the situation in spring. P and K?

Can see it being £50 a tonne in a way (but my drilling doesn't really cost me £20/acre, my yield may be more than 3.5t etc. etc.) but the aim to be able to this repeatably.

Can i buy some urea from you?
500 tons should suffice.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Can i buy some urea from you?
500 tons should suffice.

I bought a load at £261. Should have secured another at £255 but didn't. I presume my calculation is correct?

 

[SilliamWhale]

Ah I see - my maths is wrong isn't it? Should be £44!

No wonder farmers don't make much money

 

[glasshouse]

150 units urea is a bit low, more like 180 you need which is £52
3 bags 0 24 24 adds another £42 if you want to maintain the soil index.
Thats your first ton/ac blown on fert alone.

 

[SilliamWhale]

150 units urea is a bit low, more like 180 you need which is £52
3 bags 0 24 24 adds another £42 if you want to maintain the soil index.
Thats your first ton/ac blown on fert alone.

I put muck on which is free for me. I basically say straw sales more than pays for muck, so I'm a bit evens. Its also why I cut N a bit.

 

[glasshouse]

you dnt cart it or spread it for free though.

 

[warksfarmer]

you dnt cart it or spread it for free though.

Whichever way you hold the calculator your getting towards £1.50/t delivered and spread depending on distance. So 20t/ha spread adds to your crop costs.

 

[SilliamWhale]

you dnt cart it or spread it for free though.

No but in P and K terms its value is more than its costs. I could add a spreading cost but I would also need to subtract a value leftover from P and K and soil quality. So its easier to say honours evens

 

[warksfarmer]

No but in P and K terms its value is more than its costs. I could add a spreading cost but I would also need to subtract a value leftover from P and K and soil quality. So its easier to say honours evens

More like you should divide the delivery and spread cost over the number of years it lasts in the soil then add a yearly cost to each gross margin.

 

[eagleye]

we use poultry muck but add in cost of delivery, spreading etc to compare it to using bagged fertiliser so we get an idea of the value of the muck.
Not a simple calculation as effects last more than a year and more than N,P & K in the muck like Mg and S which are valuable as well as the worms which seem to like the muck in the soil.
I reckon machinery costs are very close to variable costs which are about £200/ac for us on winter wheat (without muck) ie cost per tonne around £50 (minus straw value all sold off farm)

 

[franklin]

Cost to grow on acre of Crusoe milling wheat, including land work at my own real costs (ie with man on seat), full NPK, allowence for lime, full fungicide program, and true rent = £524/ac This field has not had any Atlantis.

 

[glasshouse]

Cost to grow on acre of Crusoe milling wheat, including land work at my own real costs (ie with man on seat), full NPK, allowence for lime, full fungicide program, and true rent = £524/ac This field has not had any Atlantis.

tesla?

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

Cost to grow on acre of Crusoe milling wheat, including land work at my own real costs (ie with man on seat), full NPK, allowence for lime, full fungicide program, and true rent = £524/ac This field has not had any Atlantis.

So at 4/a average you need a price around £131 tonne to break even before SPF, happy days when it was £200 per tonne tho!

 

[SilliamWhale]

So at 4/a average you need a price around £131 tonne to break even before SPF, happy days when it was £200 per tonne tho!

There wasn't much 4t stuff when it was £200

 

[Clive]

Cost to grow on acre of Crusoe milling wheat, including land work at my own real costs (ie with man on seat), full NPK, allowence for lime, full fungicide program, and true rent = £524/ac This field has not had any Atlantis.

In nett margin terms I reckon on about £250/ac to grow Skyfall, Crusoe and Soltice this year stubble to shed - so need a couple of t/ac to cover that plus a tonne for rent - makes a 3t crop break even at current prices so my profit is SFP on rented land or a tonne plus SFP on any I'm lucky enough to own pretty much

all makes a lot more sense when you get closer 4t than 3 though and prices are closer £200 than £100 ! and quality makes milling premiums adding a min £25/t and hopefully one or the other of those things happens most years !


even at current prices there is a nett margin in this job even after sensible rent that is sustainable as long as your fixed cost, VC's and rents etc are not out of control (which I expect is many farmers problems !)