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Economics of Forage Harvest and Storage Systems
•Forage Harvesters
•Silos
Is it Time to Replace my Forage Harvester?
• Is labor availability an issue?
• Is timeliness a problem with your current equipment?
• Are your repair costs high?
• How many acres of forages do you harvest?
Solutions to Labor Scarcity and Poor Harvest Timeliness
• Purchase higher capacity forage harvester
• Change crop rotation
• Custom hire
Are your repair costs high?
• Current forage harvesters are designed to be more reliable and have fewer repairs over their lifetimes than older models
• Newer models of pull-type forage harvesters have an expected life of 2,500 hours compared to 2,000 for older models
• Newer models of SP forage harvesters have an expected life of 4,000 hours compared to 2,500 for older models
Accumulated Repair Costs for Newer vs. Older Forage Harvesters
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester age (hours)
To
tal r
ep
air
cost
pe
r $1
,000
of
pu
rch
ase
pri
ce
new pull-type
new SP
old pull-type
old SP
Hourly Repair Costs for Newer vs. Older Forage Harvesters
$0.00
$0.10
$0.20
$0.30
$0.40
$0.50
$0.60
$0.70
$0.80
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester age (hours)
Ho
url
y r
ep
air
cost
pe
r $
1,00
0 o
f p
urc
has
e p
rice
new pull-type
new SP
old pull-type
old SP
Forage Harvester Comparisons:
• 2-row towed ($25,900)
• 2-row self-propelled ($159,900)
• 3-row self-propelled ($165,600)
• 6-row self-propelled ($236,600)
Prices from Univ. of MN, “Minnesota Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimates for 2001”
Managing Machinery Costs
• Variable costs are those which occur from operating the machinery – repairs
– labor
– fuel
– lubrication
• Fixed costs are those which result from owning the machinery – depreciation
– interest
– insurance
– housing
Hourly Repair Costs for Four Forage Harvesters
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester age (hours)
Ho
url
y r
ep
air
cost
2-row pull-type
2-row SP
3-row SP
6-row SP
Accumulated Repair Costs for Four Forage Harvesters
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,0000
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester age (hours)
To
tal r
ep
air
cost
2-row pull-type
2-row SP
3-row SP
6-row SP
Hourly Repair, Fuel, and Labor Costsfor Four Forage Harvesters
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester Age (hours)
Ho
url
y c
ost 2-row pull-type
2-row SP
3-row SP
6-row SP
Field Capacity (acres/hour)Harvester Width Speed Field Efficiency Field Capacity
3.0 mph 70%2-row pull type 5 ft.
(Range: 1.0-5.0) (Range: 65-80%)
1.27
3.5 mph 70%2-row SP 5 ft.
(Range:1.5-6.0) (Range: 65-80%)
1.48
3.5 mph 70%3-row SP 7.5 ft.
(Range:1.5-6.0) (Range: 65-80%)
2.23
3.5 mph 70%6-row SP 15 ft.
(Range:1.5-6.0) (Range: 65-80%)
4.45
Repair, Fuel, and Labor Costs per Acrefor Four Forage Harvesters
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
2800
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
Harvester age (hours)
Co
st p
er
acre
2-row pull-type
2-row SP
3-row SP
6-row SP
Total Cost per Acre for Four Forage Harvesters, 10-year life
$47 $54$42 $30
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
100
125
150
175
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
Acres/year
To
tal C
ost
pe
r A
cre
2-row pull-type
2-row SP
3-row SP
6-row SP
Silage Storage Alternatives
• Tower silos
• Bunker silos
• Silage bags
Tower Silo
• Silage can be 50 to 65% moisture
• Packing of silage due to weight from top
• Various sizes available (50-4000 tons)
• Minimal exposure to weather
Bunker Silo
• Sizing is very flexible• Silage can be of higher
moisture than tower• Requires more labor to
pack down• Requires plastic and tires
to cover• Increased exposure to
weather
Silage Bags• Normal size: 150-200 ft. long by 9 ft. diameter
• Minimal amount of labor required
• May wear out tractor more quickly
• Spoilage due to weather or rodents
• Easy to regulate silage removal
• Takes up space
Summary of Silo Cost Factors
• Structure
• Equipment (tractor and special equipment)
• Labor (How much time and when does action occur)
• Fuel and lubricants
• Plastic
• Dry Matter Loss (direct loss of silage value)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Tower Bunker Bag
$/T
DM
Structure
Equipment
Labor
Fuel & Lube
Plastic
Dry Matter Loss
Annual cost of storage of 384 tons DM
Source: “Choosing Forage Storage Facilities”, B.J. Holmes, Univ. of Wisconsin
Annual cost of storage of 3,072 tons DM
Source: “Choosing Forage Storage Facilities”, B.J. Holmes, Univ. of Wisconsin
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Tower Bunker Bag
$/T
DM
Structure
Equipment
Labor
Fuel & Lube
Plastic
Dry Matter Loss
Silage Cost Management Resources
• www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/storage– Includes a spreadsheet and documentation to
analyze costs of different storage choices
• www.silo.org/costcomparison.xls– Spreadsheet tool that allows for comparison of
costs of tower, bunker, and bags