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2004 Farm Custom-Work Rate Guide for the Shenandoah Valley
Farm Business Management Update, February/March 2004
By Bill Whittle and Tom Stanley
In late 2003, the Farm Business Management Agents in the Northwest Extension District, cooperating with other Extension Agents, surveyed farmers and custom operators familiar with machinery custom-work rates in their localities. The survey instrument was prepared by the Farm Business Management Agents, mailed to farmers by participating Extension Agents in ten counties. The 236 usable responses were tabulated and distributed to the local Extension offices by the Farm Business Management Agents. Reported below are identified jobs, the unit for which the charge is quoted (acre, hour, bale, etc.), the number of usable responses for each job, and the low, high, and average for the Shenandoah Valley counties. Extremely high and low quotes were not included in the guide. The reported rates should be used only as guidelines indicating what some farmers are charging and/or paying for custom work.
| Job | Unit | Over-All Results | Average Shenandoah Valley | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO. | Low | High | |||
| Hay and Pasture | |||||
| Bush Hog (Rotary Cutter) | Acre | 19 | $5.00 | $35.00 | $17.71 |
| Hour | 30 | $15.00 | $60.00 | $29.13 | |
| Mow | Acre | 16 | $5.00 | $29.50 | $11.22 |
| Hour | 6 | $15.00 | $40.00 | $23.67 | |
| Mow/Condition | Acre | 37 | $5.50 | $27.50 | $11.78 |
| Hour | 14 | $15.00 | $60.00 | $33.18 | |
| Tedder | Acre | 16 | $2.50 | $15.00 | $6.09 |
| Hour | 10 | $15.00 | $55.00 | $24.00 | |
| Rake | Acre | 18 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $6.79 |
| Hour | 10 | $10.00 | $55.00 | $26.00 | |
| Bale Small Square Bales | Bale | 29 | $0.25 | $1.35 | $0.70 |
| Bale 400-800 Lb. Large Square Bales | Bale | 27 | $2.08 | $12.00 | $5.79 |
| Bale 800 Lb. Large Round Bales | Bale | 64 | $3.00 | $10.00 | $6.07 |
| Bale 1500 Lb. Large Round Bales | Bale | 41 | $5.00 | $11.00 | $7.09 |
| Cut, Rake, Bale (Small Square Bales) | Bale | 17 | $0.85 | $3.00 | $1.36 |
| Cut, Rake, Bale (800 Lb. Large Round Bales) | Bale | 18 | $10.00 | $18.00 | $12.72 |
| Cut, Rake, Bale (1500 Lb. Large Round Bales) | Bale | 10 | $8.00 | $25.00 | $13.90 |
| Bale Wrapping (Equipment & Operator) | Bale | 21 | $2.00 | $7.00 | $4.42 |
| Tillage Operations | |||||
| Chisel Plow | Acre | 10 | $8.75 | $24.00 | $13.78 |
| Hour | 3 | $15.00 | $40.00 | $26.67 | |
| Subsoiling | Acre | 4 | $8.50 | $24.00 | $15.63 |
| Offset Disk | Acre | 3 | $8.50 | $35.00 | $18.83 |
| Tandem Disk | Acre | 4 | $7.50 | $12.00 | $10.38 |
| Hour | 3 | $10.00 | $40.00 | $25.00 | |
| Planting | |||||
| Corn - Conventional | Acre | 18 | $7.00 | $25.00 | $13.89 |
| Corn - No-Till | Acre | 41 | $6.00 | $25.00 | $13.56 |
| Soybeans - Conventional | Acre | 7 | $7.00 | $18.00 | $13.57 |
| Soybeans - No-Till | Acre | 19 | $6.00 | $20.00 | $13.63 |
| Soybeans - Drill | Acre | 8 | $7.00 | $15.00 | $11.19 |
| Small Grain - Drill | Acre | 12 | $7.50 | $15.00 | $10.69 |
| Small Grain - No-Till | Acre | 19 | $6.50 | $18.00 | $12.16 |
| Clover and Grass Seeding - Drill | Acre | 11 | $6.50 | $15.00 | $9.41 |
| Clover and Grass Seeding - No-Till | Acre | 13 | $7.00 | $20.00 | $13.62 |
| Grain Crop Harvesting | |||||
| Picking Corn | Acre | 7 | $12.00 | $35.00 | $27.43 |
| Combining Corn | Acre | 37 | $24.00 | $50.00 | $29.41 |
| Hour | 4 | $23.33 | $100.00 | $64.58 | |
| Combining Soybeans | Acre | 24 | $22.00 | $50.00 | $29.92 |
| Combining Small Grains | Acre | 32 | $22.00 | $40.00 | $28.66 |
| Hour | 4 | $22.50 | $115.00 | $71.88 | |
| Hauling Grain | Bushel | 21 | $0.10 | $0.25 | $0.14 |
| Silage Harvest | |||||
| Tractor and Harvester | Hour | 6 | $45.00 | $75.00 | $58.33 |
| Self Propelled Harvester | Acre | 3 | $15.00 | $75.00 | $45.00 |
| Hour | 22 | $70.00 | $275.00 | $193.41 | |
| Hauling Silage | $/Ton /Mile | 3 | $0.20 | $1.00 | $0.71 |
| Hour | 18 | $18.00 | $90.00 | $47.28 | |
| Complete Job in Silo | Upright Ton | 3 | $4.75 | $18.00 | $9.75 |
| Bag Hour | 4 | $100.00 | $750.00 | $316.25 | |
| Ton | 3 | $4.00 | $8.50 | $6.50 | |
| Manure Spreading | |||||
| Liquid Manure Spreading (3,000 Gal. Tank) | Load | 5 | $52.00 | $125.00 | $79.30 |
| Hour | 19 | $45.00 | $90.00 | $53.79 | |
| Poultry Litter Spreading | Acre | 5 | $7.00 | $36.00 | $20.60 |
| Hour | 11 | $30.00 | $65.00 | $45.23 | |
| Ton | 31 | $2.00 | $20.00 | $9.11 | |
| Livestock Trucking | |||||
| Per Head | Loaded Mile | 7 | $0.07 | $1.50 | $0.51 |
| 2 Ton Truck | Loaded Mile | 13 | $1.00 | $4.00 | $2.08 |
| Semi-Trailer | Loaded Mile | 10 | $1.90 | $3.89 | $2.24 |
| Gooseneck Trailer | Loaded Mile | 40 | $1.00 | $5.00 | $2.02 |
| Job | Unit | Over-All Results | Average Shenandoah Valley | ||
| NO | LOW | HIGH | |||
| Other | |||||
| Large Bulldozer | Hour | 27 | $50.00 | $115.00 | $73.67 |
| Small Bulldozer | Hour | 19 | $25.00 | $75.00 | $50.63 |
| Backhoe | Hour | 30 | $25.00 | $90.00 | $50.90 |
| Driving Posts | Post | 18 | $0.50 | $6.00 | $2.17 |
| Digging Post Holes | Hole | 8 | $1.00 | $6.00 | $2.31 |
| Labor for Fence Building | Hour | 18 | $5.00 | $35.00 | $10.75 |
| Per Foot | 17 | $1.00 | $2.90 | $1.59 | |
| Lime Application | Acre | 19 | $3.00 | $34.00 | $10.16 |
| Ton | 4 | $5.00 | $16.00 | $12.75 | |
| Fertilizer Application | Acre | 41 | $4.00 | $17.00 | $6.32 |
| Chemical Application (Spray) | Acre | 35 | $4.00 | $17.00 | $6.61 |
| Sheep Shearing | Head | 25 | $1.00 | $5.50 | $2.56 |
| Equipment Rental | |||||
| Bale Wrapping Machine | Bale | 14 | $1.00 | $7.00 | $2.76 |
| Silage Bagging Machine(includes 9*150 foot bag) | Bag | 11 | $425.00 | $1,350 | $732.73 |
| No-Till Drill | Acre | 58 | $5.00 | $11.00 | $8.04 |
| Litter Manure Spreader | Day | 9 | $70.00 | $200.00 | $113.33 |
| Ton | 9 | $0.75 | $4.00 | $1.76 | |
| Rent Tractor | 75 HP Hour | 9 | $10.00 | $40.00 | $18.56 |
| 75-100 HP Hour | 14 | $15.00 | $60.00 | $27.57 | |
| 100+ HP Hour | 16 | $20.00 | $80.00 | $33.31 | |
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