Comparative Costs of Onboard Module Building Cotton Harvest Systems in the Mid-South

Onboard module building cotton harvesters currently offer cotton producers the potential to improve harvest efficiency and reduce harvest costs as a means of supporting cotton as an economically viable option in many farm crop rotation production systems. Using data provided by producers currently using this technology in a few southern cotton states, this study estimates current capital and operating costs of onboard module cotton pickers based on field experience and makes comparisons with the costs of using traditional basket pickers. Total per acre cotton harvest cost for the onboard module system was estimated to be approximately $26 less expensive than harvesting cotton with comparable sized basket pickers