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Aberdeen MS | The thread is getting to the bottom of the page and I wanted to at least give sek farmer my numbers for food for thought.
I just went through that exact thought process last winter. Total cash outlay to do the switch to strip till ran me $23,000 for equipment costs. 575 Acres of tillable, so we are close in ratio of your acres/cost. I have no help and do all passes by myself so time is somewhat important to me especially in the fall.
My background/former "style" in south central Minnesota.
Corn bean rotation (this year and next some wheat grown to spread out work load and add another crop to pull down root worm pressure *hopefully*).
In the fall of 05 my corn ground fall tillage fuel costs alone were $8.50/ac. That was shred stalks and then rip with a 527 DMI Ecol Tiger. Spring till was a pass with a FC followed by a pass with a multiweeder for a better seed bed. Those two passes ran up another $3.00 or so in fuel costs. For the equipment I have/had from the time the combine left the field in the fall until the planter pulled in the field I had 4 trips and $11.00 an acre in fuel. Stripping with a Dawn unit, I used .41 gal/acre @ $2.50 equals $1.03.
Right around a $10.00 per savings, splitting the 575 acres in half (just using *even* numbers) 285 acres. $2850 fuel savings on corn going to beans per year.
Bean ground going to corn the following year was a disk or FC pass in the fall plus a FC and multiweed pass in the spring. $5.00 in fuel per acre vs $1.03. Round numbers... savings $4.00. On 285 acres another $1140 in savings.
Total fuel savings $3990.... rounding lets say $4000 per year in savings. Fuel savings alone would give 100% ROI in just over 6 years at current prices.
My normal fert program was 140-50-75 broadcast/starter. My fertility for corn cost in 05 was $82.00 an acre. With my fertility levels, I can cut about 20% by banding saving $16.00/ acre, on 285 acres, that equals $4560 plus eliminate messing with the starter at planting. I fertilize for my beans for another $18.00 per acre cutting 20% for another $3.50 on 285 for another $1000. Actually there is a bit more savings for application, that's around another $2000 plus, but lets leave a "fudge" factor in place and be conservative.
Fertilizer savings is $5560 in 2005 dollars, fert took a big jump in 06, you can put in your own numbers.
So far, I have $9560 in savings in ONE year on just fuel and fertilizer.
By not needing to do fall tillage (if it's wet), I can push the corn harvest another 2 weeks later. Lets just safely assume I can pick up 2 points dryer corn. 10 yr APH for me is 152. In 05 that 2% of moisture cost me $13.50/acre not including additional shrink for another $3700 in savings.
Recapping the savings... fuel-$4000.... fert-$5560.... corn drying-$3700. Total savings $13,260.00 PER year in 05 dollars.
That puts me at a 100% ROI in right at 2 years (adding in interest) and I haven't figured into the formula what my time is worth, reduction in equipment inventory (don't need the shredder, 4 WD or the DMI), reduced maintanence costs, etc.
Side by side yields (5 acre plot 1/4 mile field length)of conventional till vs strip till in 05 corn was 170 for the strip and 169 for conventional.
For myself, it was a no brainer to do the switch. Short of no tilling, there isn't IMO, any piece of equipment that can provide that type of ROI on this farm.
These are my numbers, your milage may vary. Plug in your own numbers and see what you come up with. It may work... it may not work for you. | |
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Giving up on Strip till to the top for sek farmer
