Hello, 

I'm in the process of writing a business plan and I'm trying to get hold of some figures for diesel usage per acre for various cultivation processes....sub-soiling, ploughing, discing, power harrowing, drilling, rolling etc etc does anybody know ball park figures for these activities? or where I might be able to get the information from.  I'll be running a 110hp tractor.

Any help appreciated

cheers, 

Matt

 Matt. A good book I found was Resource Management: Machinery; Selection, investment and management, I think thats what its called, by Andrew Landers. 

Most of the useful stuff is in there if you have access to it.

Any more questions, fire away. 

Cheers Tim, that book looks really useful I'll check it out.

Matt

 Also John Nix' Farm Management Pocketbook is also good for this sort of stuff. Gives u average gross margins, prices of variable costs, price of all your cultivations individually based on an average and premium rate. Used it for my business plan alongside the book that Tim mentioned.

 Munchy

Matt,

   This is a very intersting subject,I have made comments on this thread before regarding the lower Density of Diesel and how this has affected Fuel consumption today,I however think there is more to be learnt from the overall Fuel consumption issue.When I bought my first Tractors a Ford 5000 was 72HP.I had a 5 furrow Plough and used to plough an average 20 acres/day and use around 20 Gal of Diesel.The Ford 8340 has a 4 furrow Reversible and covers 25 Acres but uses 60 Gal.The County 1454 which I suppose was 145HP used to use less than an 18 Gal Tank to plough25-30 Acres/day.The old MF 625 would cut 25 Acres approx and use about 30 Gals.Some thing is wrong.Any more Comments!!!

BB,

Perhaps the days were longer!

I do think that machinery manufacturers have to produce gear that farmers will buy. Rational choice is not always the major concern. Farmers like big machines, preferably bigger than the neighbours!

If you add air conditioning, sophisticated gearboxes, cleaner engines and very powerful hydraulics it's not totally surprising it produces a thirstier beast.

Overall I think there are some great tractors out there and with well matched machines they can be very efficient. Just as well to engage the brain in a bit of lateral thought before following your neighbour and just getting the latest bells and whistles and then thrashing up and down the fields doing recreational tillage.

I think we are just starting to give this whole subject the attention it deserves. It's amazing how $126 concentrates the mind!

Bon courage,

JC. 

Been monitoring this with onboard computer.  145 hp tractor but on very light land :

Ploughing 8 litres / ac; drilling 5 ; spraying 0.5  .  Double or treble for most people I suspect. One of the few benefits of light land !

Mark w,

That figure you give is a lot closer to my old figures than 25 litres /hour.FJ the figures I gave are per acre, yes Air conditioning is Energy consuming  but not that much.

We ought to be more precise perhaps. My ploughing is with 5 , 16 inch furrows at 10 or 11 inches deep and with a press. OUtput is about 30 acres in a full 8 hour day.

One very consistent figure is total fuel usage (excluding grain drier),which is always about 22-23 litres/ acre per year ( ploughing, drilling, x passes with sprayer, y with ferti spreader, rolling and harvesting but not baling). This average might rise slightly now we have no set aside to only mow. 

Broad brush is that TOTAL fuel use per ha on combinable cropping is no greater than 100 litres per ha.

markw.

        Well MW  mine would have been  an average depth of say 8-9" Cotswold Brash with 14" on my old 5000 and 16" on the 1454 County.I suppose you have got your Diesel figure from your annual consumption and divided it by your acreage.[ If not excuse me].I still do not really comprehend the 25/ltrs/hour for the 120 hp Tractor.What I am begining to think is that Flash Jauques is correct in that the new multipule Transmissons and especialy the Hydraulic Pump is taking one hell of a lot of power.