Combines Custom pricing

The new combines are coming into Australia at around $400 000+ and the current broadacre harvesting price is $11 to $12 per acre for wheat. Some guys during the drought last year were running around doing it for far less and they really screwed the market about. An Australian dollar is worth around 65 U.S. cents

Just to clarify. We dont own a $300,00 machine nor is it a new machine. It is in fact a 1989 R50 :-].Also we dont do very much custom work either, just a couple hundred acres a year for close neighbours and get this, they appreciate us doing it. If you say you can cut for $12 _acre ( that works out to approximately $18_ac Canadian, when I say we charge $30Can keep in mind that equates to about $20 US)ery interested in seeing a list of your yearly expenses and total acres cut. Include labour( even if you run the machine yourself your time is worth something is it notIJIJ),average fuel cost per acre, repairs( including at least a minimum hourly wage for yourselve),insurance.We dont charge anymore then anyone else in the area and many guys charge more so I dont feel we are over charging.

Northern Alabama, harvest rates are 25.00 to 35.00 dollars per acre, I have never started my '75 model K for less than 25.00 per acre. If you think that is bad, try cotton, 55.00 per acre! We are extremely wet here, 80% of corn planted with 20% lost and getting very late to replant, 75% of cotton planted with 40% of that lost, 20% of soybeans planted, still time to finish them.

I grew up in Illinois, left there in 1989, and custom rates for corn or beans were 20.00 an acre, plus .05 per cwt. With an old F and M-2, I have to wonder how anybody can make it for much lessIJ The maintenance costs alone will eat you alive. If somebody can run 2 old machines, pay the maintenance, and expenses, for 12.00 an acreIJIJIJ I can say this, try telling a farmer with 300 acres of bottom ground, when a rain is coming, that you are down, and you will quickly be out of work. Bottom line is this, it is similiar to over the road transport of freight. There are two classes, as follows... 1. The class with old stuff, a mom and pop operation. They do the neighbors at a minimal cost cause they like to,.... 2. A custom operator. He puts acres through to pay his expenses, at a low rate. His profit is made by throughput, at several thousand acres a year, to make a lease payment, then he turns them at 2 years end, writes the lease off, and stays in business. It is simple economics of business....

Just to back up Johnboy!! Cousin in the banking sector just did a lease quote for a farmer for a new R72! A$375,000 that's with 30 flex, yield monitor ,lots of goodies that usually come standard for us down here, and if you want stainless steel thur it for rice harvesting it's A$475,000!!!!!!!!! Now for contract harvesting (as we call it around here!) I did some contracting in lentils for A$61 a hectare and wheat for A$32 a Hectare, that around A$25 a acre and A$13 acre, Im a bit dear at that price, most contractors would probably do it for a dollar or two less than that. Trucking to local silo is around A$0.30c per kilometer per ton! for me around A$7.00 dollars per ton. Rolf

Brian you are an expert thank you for your expert advice beeing from Illinois makes you an expert at everything. Wow I envy your expertise and knowledge. Thanks for the expert advice and telling me How It Is. TTl expert.

Thanks for the advice. I have been in business for 22 years. I would like to get $20 to $25 per acre. Then I could spend the winter in Mexico. We will be harvesting in about 2 weeks. The wheat crop will be average. To dry in March and April to fill out the heads. Good luck.

oh I bow to your errogance.... I just wish I had your knowledge, as I must have something wrongIJIJIJ I realize there are dryland custom cutters, that get less, but run much faster, they also don't run in mud, or deal with 30 acre fields, or bottom ground. Being from Illinois makes nobody an expert, least of all me, as I am young, to say the least. But I will say this, I know what it takes to make it pay there, and there are 2 choices, either run new, and bookoo acres, or old and small acreage. It is like any other business, either get big, or smother and die broke from being too small...

If I smother and die broke, I will let you know. Hey maybe you can cut my acres and charge a lot of money for your expertise. Do you even run a machine or are you the little kid who drives the truckIJ

I have spent many hours on a machine, mostly the gleaner cylinder machine, but have been fortunate enought to operate a twin rotor New Holland, and that was a monster, covered alot of ground in a hurry....