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West Michigan | We have ours sprayed for us. This has been talked about many times. Most think that sprayers and tender trucks run without fuel, labor, insurance, depreciation, repairs ect.. In most cases spraying your own is cheaper. Here we have many good custom applicators that can do the job very well.
The main thing most seem to miss the mark on is communication. We have our fields sprayed within 24 hours of being planted. That is set-up up front and they know ahead of time what is expected of them. One local custom said no he could not do that. You need to set this up ahead of time not after it has rained for a month straight and you are mad they are not sprayting your stuff. Chemical prices need to be hashed out before the season as well.
For our farm it is a labor problem. Not sure where everyone else finds the time to spray. We give up about 1.50-1.60 an acre (app and chem) to have it custom vs. doing our own. I feel I make that more than up being able to push harder with the planter I have and not have to spend more to upgrade to a larger one. I can sidedress corn instead of putting all N up front. Adding another hired hand to the farm just won't work right now and you can't find part timers who are quilified to run a sprayer. Also never hear anyone mention that the custom guys can get it done faster than you can at times. We have had three sprayers on our farm at one time before. That is three times faster than I could do it myself. Also they come over and help scout some fields and give another set of eyes to things for me. Thats worth something as well.
So main thing to sum it up is talk ahead of the season on price and standard operating procedure. If you leave it open you will not be the first on the list for spraying. | |
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Tired of being "at the top of the list" I WANT MY STUFF SPRAYED
