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

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$900

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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

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Harvester age (hours)

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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

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Harvester age (hours)

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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

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Harvester age (hours)

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cost

2-row pull-type

2-row SP

3-row SP

6-row SP

Hourly Repair, Fuel, and Labor Costsfor Four Forage Harvesters

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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

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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

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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

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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