Rough price for growing and ag bagging maize?

Hello, Rough guess at costings as follows,

Seed can be any thing between £50/70 acre. Depending on spec and seedrate. Consider dropping seedrate from 45k/acre to 42.5k/acre to save on seed costs, bring maturity forward and increase DM. @Great In Grass on here will sort you out. Don't bother with the remaining wireworm dressing.

Sprays are usually a pre and post emergence herbicides at about £12/acre each time. Roundup, grass weed herbicide and trace elements as nesscary.

Fertilizer, huge differential in costs depending on manure availability. DAP down the spout always worth it, can reduce rate to 25kg/acre if high P indices. Huge requirements for potash. Everyone seems to have different views on N requirements, we go for 150kg/ha. High N use delays maturity, but will add to yield. This year we used Urea, DAP, MOP and sewage sludge at a total cost of £60/acre.

Drilling with fertilizer is about £13/acre and contract harvesting is about £60/acre for harvester, 3 trailers and buckrake. Contractor rates haven't changed much in the last 10 years.

Ag bagging is about £6/ton or £10/metre, generally need an extra trailer than normal due to slower tipping times. Expensive way of clamping, have clamped in the field before. OK on light land with a track for the lorry to park on.

Hope to achieve a minimum of 15t/acre at high twenty's DM. This years variable costs were £126/acre. Tin hat on!
 

Great In Grass

Member
Location
Cornwall.
I suppose other costs that can be added to the above is ploughing, cultivation & lime (if needed). Rent may also need to be considered.

The MGA costed maize out to grow at £500-£550/acre (no ag bag) in 2015, probably on the high side.
 

bobk

Member
Location
stafford
I suppose other costs that can be added to the above is ploughing, cultivation & lime (if needed). Rent may also need to be considered.

The MGA costed maize out to grow at £500-£550/acre (no ag bag) in 2015, probably on the high side.

We reckoned 700 an acre ...... good crop but too expensive imo
 

Newby

Member
Location
East Yorkshire
Didn't you do some costings on fodder beet a while ago @Newby? Or was that just bought in? Always think beet is a good option in our area because the chance of hard weather seems to get less every year and you could feed it in the ground. Having said that never see much about.
I feed a lot of bought in beet but haven't costed growing it, lots of it grown locally to me so it's as easy to buy it.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top