Released April 11, 2008

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa farm operators who hire custom machine work during the course of the 2008 crop year and those who provide such services can expect to see rates increase substantially this year, based on a survey completed recently by Iowa State University Extension.

William Edwards, ISU Extension farm management specialist, directed the survey which has been conducted annually since 1974. He said the survey data indicate rates will increase about 10 percent on average this year over comparable rates a year ago. The survey was conducted in late winter and assumed that diesel fuel used by farm machinery would cost $2.75 per gallon. Since the survey was completed, fuel costs have increased another 25 to 30 percent, which could add another 6 to 7 percent to the total cost of custom work, Edwards said.

This year’s survey asked questions about 134 different types of farm machinery operations, covering topics such as tillage, planting, spraying, fertilizer application, grain harvesting, grain drying, grain storage, forage harvesting and machinery rental.

New topics covered in this year’s survey included rates for a complete harvest operation including combining, loading grain wagons, and hauling grain from the field, and rates for managing stored grain.

The survey was based on responses from 185 farm operators, custom work providers and farm managers. Edwards said about 17 percent of the respondents hire custom work, another 34 percent provide custom work, and 49 percent both hire and provide custom machine work.

A summary of the findings of this year’s survey is available in ISU Extension publication FM 1698, 2008 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey, available at local county extension offices or as an electronic file from the Extension online store at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/store.

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http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/apr/061101.htm

Contacts: William Edwards, (515) 294-6161, wedwards@iastate.edu

Del Marks, (515) 294-9807, delmarks@iastate.edu