By Ned M. Birkey, Spartan Agricultural Consulting, LLC

Now that the spring planting season has winded down, some farmers are settling up for custom machine work that they either hired or performed for others.  What is a fair amount to charge or to pay for such work?  Dennis Stein, District Farm Business Management Educator for Michigan State University has a Custom Machine and Work Rates Estimates sheet that he periodically updates.  Electronic copies can be obtained at this web site at; http://www.msu.edu/user/steind. 

Custom Machine Work Rates Offered for Michigan

Spring planting, tillage and other custom rate numbers for the following items may be helpful for farmers as they settle up accounts.  All rates are per acre unless otherwise noted.  These numbers are average prices for the state. 

Rates in different areas of Michigan may be higher or lower than the state average depending upon several factors.  In Monroe County, factors influencing custom machine work can include; field size and shape, ease of access, amount of non-farm traffic to get to the field, machine size and width of roads or bridges, trash, weeds, trees or brush hindering work, depth of field drainage tile, payment arrangements and other factors.

The rates below include the implement, power unit, operator and fuel.  At present there is no custom machine price for vertical tillage.
•Planting corn; conventional tillage (12 row w/ fert)                    $18.84
•Planting corn; no till (12 row w/ fert)                                         $20.33
•Planting corn; min till (12 row)                                      $19.78
•Planting soybeans (15 inch rows)                                             $17.37
•Drill soybeans (no till, 15 foot)                                     $18.60
•Pest scouting                                                             $  5.00
•Vertical tillage                                                             $19.25
•Chisel with front disk (16.3 foot)                                              $16.68
•Soil finisher                                                                $15.99
•Land rolling                                                                 $  8.10
•Boom sprayer (50 foot, pull type)                                            $  6.69
•Boom sprayer (80 foot self-propelled)                          $  7.85
•Spreading lime without GPS                                        $  9.29
•Custom farming (corn)                                                 $115.44

The Dennis Stein web site also has 2013 and 2014 crop budget templates, carbon credits, NASS land rental rates and other agricultural economic information.   His email address is; [email protected] and phone number is 989-672-3870.

A copy of the 2014 Custom Machine and Work Rate Estimates can be obtained at the Monroe County Extension office.

Birkey is from Spartan Agricultural Consulting, LLC