Nebraska, The land of corn and cattle | I agree, the bin guys seem to throw out crazy numbers for bagging costs but bins are somehow 0 costs. If I built said 60k bin, not only would I have to put in a generator for power, I'd have to buy a new auger, just awhile back someone posted that a new 13" Westfield swing away was $18k, my brand new Koyker bagger cost me $22k last fall.
We put about 250 engine hours on the combine a year, so I used that as an easy way to figure how many hours I'd need a truck driver. I figured I'd have to pay $20/hr to get someone I trust to put in my trucks and not destroy them. In reality, I'd probably need 2 drivers to really keep up. Then trade our big straight truck for another semi. Those are all costs I can avoid with the bagger, even if I built bins I'd need at least 1 driver minimum.
If I built a bin and didnt completely fill it because of weather, I can't really rent it out, or I cant keep sharecrop bushels separate, all things I can easily do with a bagger. |
Bagging Corn Vs Buliding Grain Bins
