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Virginia Cooperative Extension -
 Knowledge for the CommonWealth

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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