One correction to the previous numbers. Unbeknownst to me, the seed drill rental had actually gone up, so that number is $550.
This is a good hay crop to analyze because production went pretty well. We ended up hitting several afternoon showers. I wouldn't say moisture was never a problem, but we got enough rain to make a pretty decent crop. One variable that cost us a little quality is the reserve fertility of the ground. We are in the process of regenerating this farm. I was just able to rent it 2 years ago. The previous renters had cut the hay off twice per year but never added much back to the soil. This leads to a depleted fertility situation where weeds flourish, drought is compounded, and production is limited. We are pulling out of this infertility with proper management practices, but we aren't 100% there yet.
No costs were incured between planting and harvest, so the total from the first blog post ($6535.50) is where our inputs stand going into harvest. So let us get started.
- Fuel - Harvest is primarily about running a bunch of equipment over the land several times, so fuel is a large input. For the harvest of this crop, fuel costs were $660
- Oil/Maintenance - Equipment has to be kept up, lubricated every few hours, and repaired. Those costs for this crop are $190
- Supplies - The hay baler uses twine to tie each bale. After the hay is hauled from the field we will wrap it in a plastic film that keeps out oxygen and allows the hay to preserve through a pickling process called "ensiling". Hay twine and plastic costs for this crop were $1223.
- Labor - This is always a tricky one for farmers for a multitude of reasons. Because this is a lifestyle job, we rarely count and value our own hours properly. That is a whole different blog post for another time. For this exercise just know that I will only include paid labor (which was a true cost), and I'll make a close approximation of the hours I personally spent. Costs of paid labor for this crop were $500 Additionally, I personally spent 40 hours between planting and harvesting.
- Land Rent - We will harvest a few different cuttings from this property this year, but land rent does need to be prorated across those crops. The land rent cost for this crop is $400
So, our harvest time costs were $2973. If we add that to our establishment costs of $6535.5 we can calculate a total input cost for this crop of $9508.5
The good news is that it was a good crop, yielding 230 rolls of premium baleage. By dividing total cost and yield we find that our average cost per bale is $41.34 per bale.
Is this good news? Well, that gets complicated. It is good to know the input cost of any business line item. That indicates if you are making a good investment. In this case, we need this quality feed to raise the cattle in the way that we want to raise them. This type of baleage isn't really available on the market around here, so I'm not sure what its retail value would be. I assumed around $60 per bale and after a quick google search, my assumption was confirmed. I found something similar in different parts of the country ranging from $55-$85 per bale.
One additional factor to consider as we chew on all this new information. There will be a second cutting from this stand of millet. The second cutting will not be as productive, or quite as good of quality. However, with the establishment costs already accounted for, input costs will be lower. A little additional fertilization and the work of harvest will yield a secondary harvest. So I guess this process isn't over. I'll talk to you again in a few weeks when we harvest the second cutting.
(to be continued)
