Custom Machine Work Rate Estimates Available

By Dennis Stein

Farms are gearing up for the 2017 crop production season during which farms trying to keep costs under control may utilize neighbors’ equipment to perform some production tasks.

The Michigan “Farm Machine Work Rate for 2017” summary report has been posted on the Michigan State University Extension FIRM – farm management page to be used as a reference tool. This report has been updated to provide Michigan farms with estimated values for farm machine work exchanges. This report is not an actual cost on any one farm, but is a summary of custom rate values taken from several sources. The report has been compiled and published to be a reference, or starting point for farms to use in negotiating their own farm’s actual numbers.

The one bright spot is that the price of fuel is lower than the last several year’s reports, providing some relief in the estimated operational costs.

For farms looking back, you can find a copy of the past couple years Farm Machine Work Rate reports still posted on the page.

Source:msu.edu