News Arable
No plowing: lower costs and revenues
No longer plowing for the cultivation of wheat, barley and rapeseed results in lower costs on average; for wheat this is €11 per tonne. However, the yields are 20% lower per hectare. The variation per company is enormous, according to a British study.
A British study compared the financial results and cultivation data of 12 different arable farmers. These are companies that grow wheat, barley and rapeseed using the 'no-till principle'. This means no more tillage at all, or limiting it to an absolute minimum. There are significant differences when you compare the financial results with 'conventional' cultivation methods.
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Lower costs
The costs for producing 1 ton of wheat are on average £10 per ton lower at no-till, or more than €11. This has been compared to arable farmers who plow or perform deep tillage. "The costs per tonne are €114 per tonne, compared to €125 at other companies," says accountant Gary Markham to Farmers Weekly.
However, there is a major drawback to not plowing. The yield on all farms is 20% lower than when plowing. The variation in gross margin is huge; with €282,50 per hectare difference between the farm with the lowest and highest costs. The differences are smaller among the companies that score the best.
Less machine costs
The no-till companies score well when it comes to cost reduction. The cost item labor and machines is in fact 43% lower, which means that the production costs per ton fall sharply. Machines cost €35 per tonne of wheat, compared to €61 for a plowing company. According to Markham, it is striking that labor costs are not lower, even if these are only figures over 1 year.
Despite the equal labor costs, the labor and machine costs per hectare are favorable: €337 compared to €597 on a conventional arable farm. In all cases, these are companies that have ample experience with no-till. The investment costs in machines are also lower: €591 per hectare compared to €981 for the conventional group.
weather influences
At the bottom of the line, the lower costs cannot compensate for the lower yield. The profit is €64, compared to more than €100 at the other companies. The variation is again very large with no-till: from €331 to minus €94 per hectare. The large differences are due to the fact that no plowing is highly dependent on soil type and weather conditions, which means that yields fluctuate greatly.
Niels van der Boom
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