May 23, 2016

It’s back, by popular demand! Pennsylvania’s 2016 custom rate survey is now available – after a 2015 state fiscal pause. Overall, Pennsylvania custom charges rose only 1% compared to 2014, according Adam Pike, statistician who coordinates the survey.
For your convenience, we’ve posted comparative 2016 spring and summer custom rate charges for Pennsylvania and 2015 values compiled in a University of Maryland Extension survey.
Custom rates usually include the cost of hiring the machine plus fuel and operator labor. But they vary considerably due to differences in efficiencies of equipment used in mountain and valley fields, demand for the services and operator eagerness to do custom work. The values reflect the average of the middle 80% of all reported rates.
For comparative purposes, we’ve included Maryland’s 2015 custom rate median values which, according to Shannon Dill, University of Maryland Extension educator, is less sensitive to extremes and is a better measure than the average.
Biggest rate-changers were...
Here are a few major fall tasks that made the biggest percentage shifts from 2014 to 2016 in the Keystone State:
* The silage blower rate jumped 56%.
* Custom silage chopping, hauling and silo-filling declined 15%.
* Silage-bagging in the smaller bags declined 21%
* Bushhogging dropped 10%.
* Post hole digging declined 13%.
* Manure pumping rose almost 21%.
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