C26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 2,1980
By now most farmers
should have a pretty good
idea of last year’s crop
production.
Things like yield, fertilizer
costs, fuel costs, and so on
should be obvious. The only
unknown at this point might
still be price per bushel.
What I’m leading up to is
the opportunity to compare
your costs with those of
farmers throughout the
country.
The 1980 Ford Almanac
contains a section on
production costs for a
variety of farm commodities
and includes a low, medium,
and high category, and a
place for you to pencil In
your own production costs. It
may be a little hard to relate
to the almanac’s cost and
production data, but maybe
it’s not too far off.
Let’s look first at com.
Ford’s medium category
lists land at $2OOO an acre,
yield at 120 bushels, and a
fertilizer rate of 140-50-55.
That’s actual pounds of plant
food per acre. When all costs
are counted, including a $125
per acre land rental rate and
$4 an hour for the labor in
volved, the production cost
per bushel of com comes out
at $2.65.
When you deal with
average figures, there’s
certainly room to cut some
comers, and maybe the
average farmer in this area
spends less than $125 an acre
to rent land. Of course, if he
owns it he doesn’t have to
spend any money at all
except for taxes. But then
there is the ownership cost,
or ownership value if you
prefer, and that is worth
something.
Usmg the highest priced
land and the higher costs and
yield, production costs still
come out to $2.50 a bushel,
mostly because of a sub
stantially higher yield per
acre - 150 versus 120 for
mednim Thp low cost
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This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had...
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Farm
Talk
Jerry Webb
example, which may be
more realistic to many
farmers m this area, shows
com yield at 100 bushels per
acre, a land rental rate of
$lOO an acre, and a cost of
$2.67 per bushel.
The three examples yield a
very obvious truth and that
is better land that yields
more than lower costs per
bushel. Another truth that is
fairly obvious-none of the
examples have costs that are
low enough to be very
profitable in today’s corn
market. And, of course, that
# leads to the conclusion that if
you’re going to grow com
and you can’t do much about
the cost, at least do
something about marketing
so you’re not stuck with $2.75
a bushel for a com crop that
cost $2.67 to produce.
Production cost examples
on soybeans are handled
about the same way and
come out equally gloomy.
$7.09 a bushel cost of
production on the lowest
land quality, $6.29 on
medium, and $5.90 on the
very best.
Again, the low land quality
figures may seem more
realistic with yields at 30
bushels an acre and a land
rental value of $lOO. The
Almanac divides costs into
direct costs and indirect
costs. For the low quality
land producing 30 bushels
per acre, the almanac comes
up with direct costs of about
$57 an acre
That includes $8.40 for
fertilizer, $1.50 for lime, $9
for seed $ll for herbicides,
$l9 for machine operation,
and $8.25 for interest on
operating capital and
miscellaneous costs. Direct
costs include $39 an acre for
machinery and equipment,
$4.50 for gram storage, $lOO
for land rental, and $l2 for
labor.
Perhaps some farmers
don’t break their costs dcwn
quite that way Some don’t
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Nottingham, Pa 19362
York County extension workshops
YORK If the winter
blahs have you down perk up
by learning a new skill. The
following classes are being
offered by the Penn State
Cooperative Extension
Service.
- Stop Heat Loss Through
Window Treatment - Feb. 13,
9:30-11:30, at Pleasant
Acres. Learn how cornices,
window shades, and
allow for indirect costs since
they already own the land,
storage bins, and equipment.
And they don’t include a
labor charge, since
whatever is left over is
theirs.
But if they’re going to be
realistic about the costs of
producing crops, you must
include these items and
assign fair value to them.
With 100 bushel-per-acre
corn and 30-bushel soybeans,
there isn’t a whole lot of
profit. And a farmer may
find it difficult to meet his
expenses and feed his family
on the $4 an hour alllowed for
labor.
On the other hand, if he
can spread his indirect costs
over more acres he can
reduce them some. And if
there’s a little bit of profit
per acre and he has enough
acres, there’s still the op
portunity to make a decent
living.
The Almanac doesn’t
attempt to determine profit
since it assigns no value per
bushel. But it does leave
space for you to figure this
one on your own. It’s a good
economic exercise, one that
almost any farmer could
benefit from, even if he’s
doing a much better job than
the Almanac’s averages.
If you’re not on the list for
this handy little book, talk to
your Ford tractor dealer. He
should know how to get one.
It’s loaded with interesting
information for home,
garden and farm, and it’s
spiced with a minimum of
commercial message.
One closing note picked up
from the Almanac. The
average American will have
to work from January 1 until
June 2 just to pay taxes. That
means about 42 cents of
every dollar earned goes
toward government taxes of
some kind.
In 1948, that figure was 24
cents of every dollar; in 1957
it was 35 cents; and in 1968 it
was 39 cents.
draperies can help control
heat losses.
- Beginning Knitting - Feb.
20, 27, and March 5, 9:30-
12:00, at Pleasant Acres.
Knit a pair of T. V. slippers in
class.
- Super and Slimming -
Feb. 22, 10:00-12:00,
Pleasant Acres. Low
calories ideas from ap
petizers to desserts.
- Reupholster a Chair -
starts March 18,9:30-2:30, at
4-H Center.
- Drapery Class - March 5,
12, 19, 10:00-12:00, at
Pleasant Acres. Learn
techniques needed to con
struct a professional look
drapery.
- Machine Quilting, March
18 & 25, 9:30-2:30, at
Pleasant Acres. Learn to do
quilting with your sewing
machine.
- Making slip covers -
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MEL’S WELDING SERVICE
R 1 Kennedyville, Md. 301-348-2179
Sales and Service - Grain Equipment, Bucket Elevators.
March 13, 25, 26, 27, 9:30-
2:30, at the 4-H Center. Make
a slip cover for your chair in
class.
- Bread Winners - March
27, 10:00-12:00, at Pleasant
Acres. Emphasis will be on
whole gram breads.
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save $$
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By placing your order on
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February 4
$BO ton - fines
814-395-5030 Evenings
Trucking Available or picked up
at the plant located near
Pittsburgh, PA
Distributors, Pipes and Accessories
There is a fee for some of
the workshops and class size
is limited. For more in
formation about the
workshops and how to
register call the Penn State
Cooperative Extension
Office at 757-9657.