Alternatives in Machinery Management on Juab County, Utah, Dry-Farms

Data were collected from 25 dry farmers living in East-Juab County farming a minimum of 100 acres of land. The data includes the use of tractors, plows, weeders, drills, and combines. A comparison was made between the costs of operation for nine farms between the range of 100 and 500 acres, with an average of 302 acres, producing an average of 83 acres of grain; eleven farms in the range of 501 to 1,000 acres, with an average of 729 acres;--producing an average of 243 acres of grain; and five farms in the range of 1,001 to the largest of 2,600 acres, having an average of 1,871 acres, producing an average of 769 acres of grain. Machinery costs were prorated for other crops grown. The calculations include costs of depreciation, interest, taxes, and repairs. Machinery costs per acre of grain produced for the smallest acreage group were $10.99. Costs for the medium acreage group were $5.66, and the largest acreage group were $3.21. The total costs with estimated fuel and labor amounted to $16.27 for the smallest acreage group, $10.25 for the medium acreage group, and $7.13 for the largest acreage group. A comparison was then made between the costs of four operations with custom hiring, cooperative-owned equipment, rental equipment, and the costs of the survey data for one acre of land. The costs are as follows: the smallest acreage group, $11.07; custom hiring, $9.50; rental equipment $7.57; medium acreage group, $6.89; cooperative-owned equipment $5.37; and the largest acreage group, $4.95