Whats the going rate for wholecrop?

[ollie989898]

For the situation described in the OP, you have to have the conversation to discuss the details.

How much oats and barley was actually drilled? Forget the grass because I can't see that it would be making much of a contribution to it with oats and barley stood over it.

Was any weed control or chemistry actually applied? Is the crop clean? Is it disease free? Does it even have the makings of a crop that would yield grain?

It's completely open ended. I would venture that the man growing it has probably spent the aforementioned £100/acre already getting it drilled. How much weed control etc may have been applied is then open for discussion. You need also to consider the value of the forage being taken off. If you consider that 1 tonne of dry matter used to be worth £100 then you have a figure you can work to.

There is also the potential for a future deal to be considered- if the man growing it does not make enough money from it he will be unlikely to grow it again much less offer it for sale to you.

IF the guy has done a reasonable job of growing it and not just drilled and shut the gate, then I suspect the £300 mark might be a reasonable starting point. But I have seen it before where people have drilled a bit of barley in with a new ley in spring and tried to claim it was worth X as wholecrop, having done nothing but thrown 50 units of N at it. That is not fair for the person doing the buying.

The same question pops up about maize some years, and the figure of £350 is often mentioned, but I have heard of it go for auction for £600...

 

[ridger]

For the situation described in the OP, you have to have the conversation to discuss the details.

How much oats and barley was actually drilled? Forget the grass because I can't see that it would be making much of a contribution to it with oats and barley stood over it.

Was any weed control or chemistry actually applied? Is the crop clean? Is it disease free? Does it even have the makings of a crop that would yield grain?

It's completely open ended. I would venture that the man growing it has probably spent the aforementioned £100/acre already getting it drilled. How much weed control etc may have been applied is then open for discussion. You need also to consider the value of the forage being taken off. If you consider that 1 tonne of dry matter used to be worth £100 then you have a figure you can work to.

There is also the potential for a future deal to be considered- if the man growing it does not make enough money from it he will be unlikely to grow it again much less offer it for sale to you.

IF the guy has done a reasonable job of growing it and not just drilled and shut the gate, then I suspect the £300 mark might be a reasonable starting point. But I have seen it before where people have drilled a bit of barley in with a new ley in spring and tried to claim it was worth X as wholecrop, having done nothing but thrown 50 units of N at it. That is not fair for the person doing the buying.

The same question pops up about maize some years, and the figure of £350 is often mentioned, but I have heard of it go for auction for £600...

Last time I grew maize it cost £800 by the time it was in the pit

 

[ollie989898]

Last time I grew maize it cost £800 by the time it was in the pit

Is it really as much as that?

 

[ridger]

Ground £300, seed 50, fertiliser 100, lime 50, ploughing and sowing 70, plastic 100, herbicide 60, harvesting and additive 60, plus brushing road and covering pit and extra trailers for a long haul. Cheaper to buy at £45 A ton

 

[ridger]

That was in 2005 think plastic cheaper now

 

[Al R]

Ground £300, seed 50, fertiliser 100, lime 50, ploughing and sowing 70, plastic 100, herbicide 60, harvesting and additive 60, plus brushing road and covering pit and extra trailers for a long haul. Cheaper to buy at £45 A ton

Your lime would be £12.50 as it's put on one in 4 surely?
With the ground rent starting at £300 it does start it off high?

I agree with everything @ollie989898 has said. I've had very good crops of spring wheat that I was offered £450/acre for and I took it through to the combine and I was better off, i was lucky with the weather getting it off at 16% mind, full bread bonus's and 4t/acre and 2.5t/acre of straw!

 

[Hooby Farmer]

It was drilled 65kg/Ac oats and SB mix, its perfectly clean and disease free having only one fungicide and herbicide treatment. 3cwt of fert, 2litres of liquid seaweed. Sat down and did the sums, i had a rough idea i was off by around a £10 but it has cost £127 to grow that is using all the costings such as ploughing and power harrowing and drilling at contractors rates.

 

[Al R]

It was drilled 65kg/Ac oats and SB mix, its perfectly clean and disease free having only one fungicide and herbicide treatment. 3cwt of fert, 2litres of liquid seaweed. Sat down and did the sums, i had a rough idea i was off by around a £10 but it has cost £127 to grow that is using all the costings such as ploughing and power harrowing and drilling at contractors rates.

Plus there's rent, lime divided by how often you lime etc..
I'd work out what you could get for the grain and straw and work backwards from there - less combining, carting, baling, drying etc..

 

[ollie989898]

£127 seems very cheap.

Lime is hard to place because I have land that will never need lime and never has yet because the pH is just where it wants to be. The P and K involved can be an issue instead but then we have oodles of that in various forms.

 

[ridger]

It was drilled 65kg/Ac oats and SB mix, its perfectly clean and disease free having only one fungicide and herbicide treatment. 3cwt of fert, 2litres of liquid seaweed. Sat down and did the sums, i had a rough idea i was off by around a £10 but it has cost £127 to grow that is using all the costings such as ploughing and power harrowing and drilling at contractors rates.

Is the ground worth nothing then

 

[ridger]

Your lime would be £12.50 as it's put on one in 4 surely?
With the ground rent starting at £300 it does start it off high?

I agree with everything @ollie989898 has said. I've had very good crops of spring wheat that I was offered £450/acre for and I took it through to the combine and I was better off, i was lucky with the weather getting it off at 16% mind, full bread bonus's and 4t/acre and 2.5t/acre of straw!

Conacre is only for one year so the lime is 50. Sure grazing ground is making over 300 an acre in there parts

 

[Hooby Farmer]

Do you include rent for ground in your costings if you own the ground? Clean grass around here is only making between £80-100. Lime is the only cost i have knowingly not included like has been mentioned, its hard to place exactly. I only put it into wholepcrop to help reseed it after spuds.

 

[ridger]

Do you include rent for ground in your costings if you own the ground? Clean grass around here is only making between £80-100. Lime is the only cost i have knowingly not included like has been mentioned, its hard to place exactly. I only put it into wholepcrop to help reseed it after spuds.

Of course you include it, you could rent the land to a dairy farmer for £300 so it must be worth that

 

[Hooby Farmer]

If i could get £300 for renting it, do you think i would be asking people on TFF's advice? You're only down the road come on and take it.

 

[ridger]

Wereally you ever at the slab land auction? Some mental prices there.