Friday cocktail and end-of-week discussion

[Hamloc]

When im pencilling for next yr im targetting 650 gross/ ac if my inputs are 300$/ ac or higher.

550 $/ ac if its a lower input crop

margins will be the same.


Its a bit high but its what im goin after.

if i cant logistically ( realistically even in a bumper yr) get to that number... then no point in growing that crop.
80 bushel hard red @ 8.15/ bushel.

is that easier or tougher to achieve than 100 bushel malt @ 6.50
(Malt costs a bit less than hrs to grow but more in haul cost and more time risk as we always swath it and get after it)


50 bushel peas @ 10.50 nets me the same as 60 bshl canola @ 13.

whats more feasible to achieve AND what am i able to do within our own rotation.

My math is a little different. I would say cost per acre ranges from a low of $400 up to about $460 at the high end for canola. Used to grow malt, generally a waste of time. Also used to grow peas but not worth the wear and tear on the combine even with Macdon headers. As for yields 80 bushel wheat is at the high end in my area, 70 is more realistic. Growing a little more Soft White wheat. Nice crop to grow and good straw for the cows.

[goalieguy847]

My 300$/ ac is using direct inputs and fuel / spray/ combine/ trucking.
110$/ ac fert
80 seed
20$/ ac in crop herbicide ( truflex RR canola @ 1.33 L/ ac in 2 passes no pre burn) + generic proline fungicide
90$/ ac seeding etc costs

Crop insurance included


basically costs that are " similiar" for all farmers.

I may be low. But its in that ballpark.

Overall after a farm avg rent/ land payment costs i hope that the crop willl net us 60 to 120$/ ac.

If its pencilling in at anything less than that. No bueno.

[Hamloc]

My 300$/ ac is using direct inputs and fuel / spray/ combine/ trucking.
110$/ ac fert
80 seed
20$/ ac in crop herbicide ( truflex RR canola @ 1.33 L/ ac in 2 passes no pre burn) + generic proline fungicide
90$/ ac seeding etc costs

Crop insurance included


basically costs that are " similiar" for all farmers.

I may be low. But its in that ballpark.

Overall after a farm avg rent/ land payment costs i hope that the crop willl net us 60 to 120$/ ac.

If its pencilling in at anything less than that. No bueno.

You forgot land cost which I put in at $125 an acre. I also would say $90 an acre for all seeding harvesting costs is a bit light. Machinery depreciation alone is at least $50 an acre.

[goalieguy847]

Fair enough
but those costs are variable based on every farm. I dont have any rent near 125 .

My depreciation is nothing like 50. BUT we run older stuff. I think the depreciation is mostly gone when we buy it! 8 yrs old atleast! Auction hunter!

[Hamloc]

Fair enough
but those costs are variable based on every farm. I dont have any rent near 125 .

My depreciation is nothing like 50. BUT we run older stuff. I think the depreciation is mostly gone when we buy it! 8 yrs old atleast! Auction hunter!

Hmm newest combine is 10 years old. Cost $240000 4 years ago. Header that is on it cost $60000. So $300000, amounts to at least $30000 a year depreciation. Doesn’t include repairs. I have spent probably $30000 in repairs over 4 years. So $7500 a year. That is one piece of equipment. Low balling costs just fools yourself.

[goalieguy847]

But how many acres does it cover per yr.
does it do 1000 or does it do 2?
3 4?
yearly costs mean squat if you have no acre cost.

also
You mean to tell me that the 10 yr old combine ( 2014) and header you have that you paid for 300 k 4 yrs ago is only worth 180 today?
combined?

So you have either A) put alot of hours on it
or B) bought something with horrid resald value

for example
our 690 we bought it 2018
Have put about 60 k into it
paid 210 at auction

Header Was 42 k bought same yr.
both combined today?
probably a conservative 150 k

so our depreciation would be about 15 k a year or 10$/ ac. If it does 1500 ac a year ( which is low as it does roughly 2000/ yr but our 2nd combine is not like this one... much cheaper rig 9070)
Alot less if calculating using all the total farm acres


combines and drills have very poor resale value. Not all equipment is like that.
example

1994 9280 ford/ new holland

Paid 35 k for it 12 yrd ago. And yeah... we are gonna get our money back if we ever get rid of it. Have put a whopping 5 k into that beast.

Every farm is different and im no fool.
a new s780 wouldnt be enough combine for our acres and our short season here... but the depreciation would easily be 40$/ ac.

i think replacement cost is really where a guy would have a difficult time pencilling in an exact number.

we are in a very strange unprecedented time where we ALL have stuff thats worth what we paid for it ... and other stuff we jist cant get rid of due to gross replacement cost

Currently run a 4830
Does about 10 to 12 k acres a yr i owe nothing on it. Havent since 2019.

Replacement with same.booms and same tank plain jain deere? 200k ish.

Bigger booms... bjgger tank...r4038 with reasonable hours? 350 k.

Brand new? ..cant afford it. Our payment would be more than a custom guy would charge.

[Hamloc]

But how many acres does it cover per yr.
does it do 1000 or does it do 2?
3 4?
yearly costs mean squat if you have no acre cost.

also
You mean to tell me that the 10 yr old combine ( 2014) and header you have that you paid for 300 k 4 yrs ago is only worth 180 today?
combined?

So you have either A) put alot of hours on it
or B) bought something with horrid resald value

for example
our 690 we bought it 2018
Have put about 60 k into it
paid 210 at auction

Header Was 42 k bought same yr.
both combined today?
probably a conservative 150 k

so our depreciation would be about 15 k a year or 10$/ ac. If it does 1500 ac a year ( which is low as it does roughly 2000/ yr but our 2nd combine is not like this one... much cheaper rig 9070)
Alot less if calculating using all the total farm acres


combines and drills have very poor resale value. Not all equipment is like that.
example

1994 9280 ford/ new holland

Paid 35 k for it 12 yrd ago. And yeah... we are gonna get our money back if we ever get rid of it. Have put a whopping 5 k into that beast.

Every farm is different and im no fool.
a new s780 wouldnt be enough combine for our acres and our short season here... but the depreciation would easily be 40$/ ac.

i think replacement cost is really where a guy would have a difficult time pencilling in an exact number.

we are in a very strange unprecedented time where we ALL have stuff thats worth what we paid for it ... and other stuff we jist cant get rid of due to gross replacement cost

Currently run a 4830
Does about 10 to 12 k acres a yr i owe nothing on it. Havent since 2019.

Replacement with same.booms and same tank plain jain deere? 200k ish.

Bigger booms... bjgger tank...r4038 with reasonable hours? 350 k.

Brand new? ..cant afford it. Our payment would be more than a custom guy would charge.

You could be correct. It is a relatively low houred Case ih 8230, about 1400 hrs. threshing so might be worth $175000. Header is a 2015 FD75 35 foot in very nice condition, so hasn’t lost much value. I run 2 combines, so roughly 1000 acres each. No grain dryer so we like to cover as many acres as possible when it is dry. I am in the same boat on my sprayer. Case ih 3320 with roughly 3200 hrs., to replace it would cost a lot of money. So try to keep it in good shape.

As for land cost. In my area, east of Red Deer, land is trading for 850-900K per quarter. Even if not renting what is the opportunity cost? Figures can lie and liars can figure. Maybe the cost doesn’t come out of pocket but the cost is there none the less.

[blackpowder]

We always plant what we hope will be best financially regardless.
We have a limited number of choices here that fit that bill. Crop planning quite simple.
30#s of fert here and there is a bleed but not the killer.
Of course margins critical but.
Looking through a windshield, I see fixed costs as the widest variable between operations and the least studied.

[SASKFARMER]

Did I read that right 30lbs Fert?

We would grow nothing with that low amount.

[furrowtickler]

Guys here that backed way off on fert this past year did far better ROI than any high fertility. Was not even close .
residual N is still high this fall in soil samples .
High fertility here simply was a complete waste of money again
grew straw and now grain before being burnt out in July
each area and year different

[blackpowder]

Did I read that right 30lbs Fert?

We would grow nothing with that low amount.

Wrong context.
Point was 30#s product more or less isn't the cost breaker. It's the fixed costs.
We hover between 80 and 120 of actual N alone here.

[SASKFARMER]

I agree 30 lbs more or less is 20.00 an acre its not 125.00