Sprayer Economics Gary Schnitkey University of Illinois

Outline Estimate costs of per acre sprayer operations for inclusion on farmdoc Evaluate for four situations

Custom Rate Surveys Type Avg. Range Iowa, 2005 Tractor 4.95 (3.50 – 8.50) Self propelled 5.05 (3.50 – 8.00) Airplane 5.80 (5.00 – 6.75) Purdue, 2004 Tractor 4.81 (3.32 – 6.29) Highboy 5.44 (3.77 – 7.12) Airplane 6.22 (4.30 – 8.14)

Situations Evaluated 1.Pull-type, well-equipped, 90 ft boom 2.Pull-type, economical, 40 ft boom 3.Self-propelled, High boy, 90 ft boom 4.Self-propelled, Coupe, 60 ft boom

Tendering Costs $50 per hour for truck and labor Acre/hr Cost/acre 1.Pull-type, well equip 50$ Pull-type, economical Self-prop, high crop Self-Prop, coupe

Pull-Type Sprayer Well Equipped $25,000 purchase price 90 ft boom Hold 10 years (sell for $5,200) $1.50 fuel price, 7% interest rate, $13.50 labor price Covers about 50 acres per hour

Acres per Hour Speed 8 miles per hr. x feet per mile 5,280 feet x boom width 90 feet ÷ area per acre 43,560 square feet The. capacity 87 acres x field efficiency 60% Acres covered 52

Tractors Charges (155 HP) Based on Per Hour Costs Per YearPer Hour Depreciation $4,867 $16.22 Interest 3, Housing Repair Fuel and Lub 3, Labor 4, Total 17,555 $58.51 From Machinery Cost Estimates on farmdoc

Per Hour Tractor Cost by HP

Pull Type Sprayer (4,000 acres) Costs per Acre Sprayer Tractor Total Depreciation Interest Repairs Ins + House Fuel Labor Total

Per Acre Costs for Different Acres AcresCost 1,000$4.23 2, , , , Holds tractor hour costs constant **No tendering costs ($1.00 per acre)

Pull Type Sprayer Economical $14,000 purchase price 40 foot boom Hold 10 years ($0 salvage value) 105 HP tractor 23 acres per hour (60% field efficiency)

Per Acre Costs for Different Acres AcresCost 1,000$4.19 2, , , , Holds tractor hour costs constant Do not include tendering costs ($2.17)

Pull Type Sprayers, Per Acre Costs Acres90 ft. 40 ft. 1,000$ , , , ,

Why not much difference? Tractor cost spread over fewer acre 90 foot boom (155 HP) –$58.51/ 50 acres = $1.17 per acre 40 foot boom (105 HP) –$44.13 / 23 acres = $1.92 per acre

Self Propelled Sprayer High Crop $192,000 purchase price 90 foot boom High boy Hold for 10 years ($40,000 value) 50 acres per hour (60% field efficiency)

Salvage Value Work from Kansas State Kastens and Dhuyvetter Developed OwnSpray.xls to estimate costs of self-propelled machines Salvage values: –Drop 15% for each year –Drop 1% for each 100 hours

Self Propelled, High Boy (10,000 acres) Costs per Acre Total Per Acre Depreciation 15, Interest 6, Repairs 4, Ins + House 1, Fuel 2, Labor 2, Total 31,

Per Acre Costs for Different Acres High Boy ** AcresCost 5,000$5.45 7, , , , ** No tendering costs ($1.00)

Self Propelled Sprayer Spray Coupe $91,000 purchase price 60 foot boom No tall crop ability Hold for 10 years ($19,000 value) 41 acres per hour (60% field efficiency)

Self Propelled (10,000 acres) Costs per Acre Total Per Acre Depreciation 7, Interest 3, Repairs 4, Ins + House Fuel 1, Labor 3, Total 20,

Per Acre Costs for Different Acres Spray Coupe AcresCost 5,000$3.10 7, , , , ** No tendering costs ($1.21)

Self Propelled Sprayers, Per Acre Costs Acres High crop Coupe 5,000$5.42 $3.10 7, , , ,

Why difference? Difference due to initial costs of machine

Summary Must run over sufficient acres to get costs approaching custom rates. Some instances of cost savings. Additional reasons justifying ownership from other than cost savings perspective