Straw for muck - allocation of costs within a business

[BBE]

Sorry if this has been done before. How do people allocate costs to enterprise, i.e. baling, carting of straw to livestock, carting muck, spreading to arable? What about mucking out? Is value considered cost neutral? Didn't know if this should be posted in Cropping or Livestock as I'm sure it's viewed very differently for each.

 

[Brisel]

Baling and carting straw to livestock. Carting and spreading muck to the arable. That’s the simplest way if you struggle to separate the mucking out from carting and spreading.

The value of the muck varies with age, type, distance hauled and whether it is tipped in the field for spreading later. Typically a 6-9 month midden in the field is worth approximately £5/t spread which is about the cost of the operations. Your arable profit is the organic matter. The £5/t is based on P and K plus a tiny bit of N available to the following crop, not 100% of every nutrient.

 

[puppet]

Within a business should be as if you are contracting to anyone else.
Diary, timesheet and a value put on the product.
As long as your accountant can justify it to HMRC then your figures will be OK as the money is not actually leaving your overall business. Is that correct?

 

[BBE]

Within a business should be as if you are contracting to anyone else.
Diary, timesheet and a value put on the product.
As long as your accountant can justify it to HMRC then your figures will be OK as the money is not actually leaving your overall business. Is that correct?

I'm only thinking about it for benchmarking really, just trying to get it relatively accurate

 

[Brisel]

I'm only thinking about it for benchmarking really, just trying to get it relatively accurate

Have you tried asking the same question in the Livestock forum yet?

 

[BBE]

Have you tried asking the same question in the Livestock forum yet?

I haven't, posted here as it reflects my bias, suppose I should have tried to balance that really!

 

[DRC]

I do a straw 4 muck deal with a neighbouring pig farm and no money or invoices change hands . He has free straw , I get free muck .
Never been asked by accountants or anything .

 

[Brisel]

I do a straw 4 muck deal with a neighbouring pig farm and no money or invoices change hands . He has free straw , I get free muck .
Never been asked by accountants or anything .

What kind of exchange rate is it? 6t muck for 1 t straw? 1 acre of straw for 10t of muck?

 

[teslacoils]

If you leave straw in the swath and get muck tipped in field, how about

Income foregone for loss of straw sales
Plus cost of spreading.

 

[Hilly]

The arable man should bale haul straw then bed cattle then muck out haul and spread muck , simple no arguments over who dose what .

 

[D14]

Sorry if this has been done before. How do people allocate costs to enterprise, i.e. baling, carting of straw to livestock, carting muck, spreading to arable? What about mucking out? Is value considered cost neutral? Didn't know if this should be posted in Cropping or Livestock as I'm sure it's viewed very differently for each.

A straight swap is no different to chopping straw from the arable farmers point of view. If you chop your straw then theres no baling, stacking costs etc. So the livestock farmer bales, stacks and hauls the straw.
The muck side of things just reduces your fert bill. If its a straight swap there is no need to allocate anything but you collect it and spread it.

 

[DRC]

The arable man should bale haul straw then bed cattle then muck out haul and spread muck , simple no arguments over who dose what .

Ha ha .I’d be out if that was the case .
pig farm bales, hauls straw. I haul muck and spread. Luckily we are very close .

 

[Hilly]

Ha ha .I’d be out if that was the case .
pig farm bales, hauls straw. I haul muck and spread. Luckily we are very close .

I was taking the pee

 

[DRC]

What kind of exchange rate is it? 6t muck for 1 t straw? 1 acre of straw for 10t of muck?

It’s never been established. We just let him have as much straw as he needs to fill his barn, usually about 100 acres worth, then I have it all back with pig muck attached .
I also get slurry which he pays contractors to spread , so no cost to me .

 

[DRC]

I was taking the pee

I know, that’s why I said ha ha

 

[HarryB97]

Baling and carting the straw as well as mucking out costed to the livestock and carting and spreading the muck costed to the arable, that's what I do.

 

[snarling bee]

We bale about 150 acres of winter cereal straw and get 100 acres worth of muck at 35t/ha. We don't charge the pig enterprise for anything, but perhaps we should be more realistic and at least charge the baling.

 

[Chae1]

I just do straw for muck. No money changes hands within the business for straw. I do charge the livestock business for baling it though. Arable side pays to spread it.

 

[db9go]

Sorry if this has been done before. How do people allocate costs to enterprise, i.e. baling, carting of straw to livestock, carting muck, spreading to arable? What about mucking out? Is value considered cost neutral? Didn't know if this should be posted in Cropping or Livestock as I'm sure it's viewed very differently for each.

Chop the straw and let him keep the B G at his place

 

[l'ordinary bonville]

Our pigs pay for contractor baling and a charge is applied from the arable for leading straw in and leading muck out over the winter. Nominal £50/hr for the man and tractor.

The arable pays for spreading muck, whether done in house or contractor.

Slurry applied in the autumn is charged to the pigs, applied in the spring is not charged. Tractor and tanker £70/hr or £1.75/m3

Having said that, the days of autumn spreading of muck or slurry are numbered if EA get their way so all muck and slurry will be applied in the spring and charged to the arable side. All storage and moving will be charged to the pigs