PROFIT
NEW BENCHMARK ROUTE TO
PROFIT
Benchmarking is set to
become the buzzword this
season as the government
rolls out its latest project
to persuade more arable
producers to take advantage
of research findings.
Andrew Blake reports
RECORD, compare and be prepared to change if necessary. That is the principle behind a new £270,000 MAFF-funded drive (Arable Feb 9) administered by ADAS to improve profitability.
Key to the exercise is a series of technical benchmarks allowing growers to assess their performance in 12 critical areas.
The aim is to encourage more farms back on to the road to recovery, explains ADASs Bill Clark. "The top 10% of farms are still making money. Its all about identifying what they are doing to make a profit and helping raise others to their level."
Farm size clearly has little influence on profitability, notes colleague James Clarke. But yield and price have a significant effect.
On average, the top 25% of winter wheat growers achieve an extra 1t/ha (0.4t/acre) and get £2/t more for their grain.
"Yield is a major contributor to profit for all combinable crops and sugar beet. Price and quality are essential for potatoes, but also important for all crops."
The best wheat producers spend slightly less on better timed inputs, and are prepared to invest relatively more than other farms in labour and machinery, says Mr Clarke. It is a similar story with other crops, where the outlay of the top 25% tends to be focused more on revenue earning crops rather than breaks.
The new technical benchmarks give growers the chance to see how well they are doing. But adequate records are a must to make the comparisons, he warns. Suitable forms to help can be downloaded from the new project web-site (www.agriknowledge.co.uk) which also provides access to a wide range of research findings.
"As a first step you must have detail, at least at enterprise level, for yield and price," says Mr Clarke. Also required are records of pesticide use, labour and machinery. Individual field records are more valuable, but may initially be a step too far for some growers, he acknowledges.
"I am still surprised by the huge number of farmers who do not keep enough records to be able to monitor their own performance," says Mr Clark. "Many still do not record what they spend, for example, on fungicides."
First benchmarks under the knowledge transfer programme cover machinery/cultivations and wheat fungicides. Another 10 are planned by this summer.
Subsoiling benchmarks
Working depth: 355-405mm (14-16in)
Hp/leg 35-45
Note: Winged subsoilers best. A 3-leg machine should achieve 0.8ha/hr (2 acres/hr).
Ploughing benchmark
Power requirement:15-25hp/furrow.
Note: Adding a press to match plough width increases power requirement by 0.5-0.75hp/furrow, but may save a following cultivation.
Disc harrows benchmarks
Power requirement 33-66hp/m width
Work rate/hr 0.66ha/m width
Note: Target for 3.6m wide machine is 2.4ha/hr (6 acres/hr).
Power harrows benchmarks
Power requirement 26-33hp/m width
Work rate/hr 0.33ha/m width
Note: Target for 4m wide model is 1.33ha/hr (3.3 acres/hr).
Overall power benchmarks (hp/acre)
Combinable crops only Combinable crops & roots
Farm size (acres)
300-500 0.5 0.8
500-1000 0.4 0.65
>1000 0.4 0.5
Note: Main tractors including self-propelled sprayers.
Crop sprayer benchmarks
1000-litre 12m mounted on 70+hp tractor
Farm re-filling Bowser re-filling
Work rate (ha/hr) 6 7.3
Note: A well operated 12m sprayer should cover 178ha (440 acres) within the target of 25 spraying hours after recommendation.
Seed drilling benchmarks
Sowing-only drills Cultivating & sowing drills
Hp/m width @
5mph 23 26
Work rate of 2.2 (@ 5mph) 2.6 (@6mph)
4m drill
Combine harvester benchmarks
Available hrs* 300 in South & East 200 in North & West
Threshing losses Up to 1% acceptable for optimal output
Header losses Can be five times threshing losses.
* Consider well before harvest.
Note: Apply as much attention to header losses as rear-end threshing losses to maximise harvested grain.
Available cultivation days
Aug Sep Oct Nov
Dry year
Light soil 30 28 25 20
Medium soil 30 28 24 17
Heavy soil 28 23 17 5
Wet year
Light soil 26 24 22 13
Medium soil 25 21 16 9
Heavy soil 24 17 7 2
Fertiliser spreader benchmarks
Spinning disc & airstream distributors* (12m machines carrying 1t@ 5mph)
Work rate (ha/hr) 6.9
* Disc machine on 70+hp tractor.
Airstream needs extra 15hp
Note: Fertiliser spreading is less weather critical than spraying. So either type should achieve 57ha/day – adequate for 400ha (1000 acres) of crop
Rolls benchmarks
Power requirement 16.5hp/m
Work rate/hr 0.4ha/m width
Note: 3mph good compromise speed. At this a 6m set should cover 2.4ha/hr (6 acres/hr).