Figuring costs is very dependent on just exactly what each individual has as "The object of the exercise."

You might notice the stack and breather pipe on the hood of the disking tractor. Wane had the MT and EZ busy with real tillage and thus old dad was relegated to the old soldier with manual guidance.

About the only costs I can attribute to the disking operation is fuel. Tractor is paid for and has been since the second year I ran it. I doubt I'll ever put enough hours on it to wear it out and I have no desire to sell it, nor would I have a place to put the proceeds if I did, so what do you think it costs to run it / hour? Disk is also paid for and in the 30+ years it's been here, about the only thing I've ever done to it is replace one bearing. Disks aren't really worn much and look like it will be another 30 years before they show much wear, let alone need replacement. In this instance, I'm hard pressed to figure out any costs other than fuel. As far as operator's time goes; I guess I could be chasing around in an RV or on a Harley, or a boat instead of skinning the old Cat. Doubt it would give me as much enjoyment and would likely cost more than my so-called recreational tillage. What I'd probably end up doing is finding a new piece of machinery to drag home, so this may even have a net positive cash-flow, even after we factor the cost of the fuel burned.