National Tillage Crops Forum Profit from crop & farm analysis Ciaran Hickey Teagasc, Enniscorthy
Outline Why carry out analysis On farm collection of data Machinery Costs calculator/profit monitor data input sheets for on farm visit. How we analyse and plan from the information Machinery Cost calculator eprofit Monitor 2012 results and Trends from analysis
Can financial analysis help? e-crops Machinery Cost Calculator Other fixed costs e-profit Monitor
Why is cost analysis important? High cost production system You have more control over cost than price Volatile Markets Forward trading Forward planning Need to plan your approach to machinery A good plan today is better than a perfect one tomorrow
Whats new?? Better way of completing the analysis Report is clear and easily explained Can point to a improved way forward
E-profit monitor Input Sheets Can be completed quickly (1Hr) Follow up may be needed, identify missing data Worksheets for data entry Data is collected in a standard way allowing for better comparison between growers.
E-profit monitor Input Sheets Machines with payments outstanding Machines fully owned/old machines Diesel usage page Contractor charges Fixed costs Variable costs per crop
ecrops
Machinery Cost Calculator Snap shot of one years costs in a machinery cycle Repayments, Depreciation, fuel, repairs The program gives total machinery costs and also identifies Specific tillage costs It strip out Contracting costs (out) Other enterprises
Machinery list
Report: Easy to understand The Annual cash cost = repairs, diesel, repayments, contractors hired in Highlight Exposure level in current year
Fuel usage
Breakdown of costs 10 32 40 27
Machinery costs 2012 (Carlow) eprofit Monitor Avg. Cost 110ac Range 68 to 149 Cash Cost Avg. 101/ac Range 56 to 170
Machinery costs 2012 Difference 81/acre @ 3t/acre Spring Barley Additional 27/t Same as a price difference of; 170 vs. 197 Can be the difference between winning and losing
eprofit Monitor Confidential detailed financial analysis Key outputs Full financial analysis by crop Production cost /Ha and /tonne Break even yield/price Allows comparison against standard or group costs
Preliminary results 2012 Common costs Excludes Land rental Labour Interest
Winter Barley 2012 Avg. yield 3.16 t/acre Range 2.24 to 3.77 Avg. Cost 449/acre Range 292 to 567 Avg. Cost 144 /tonne Range 101 to 175 Avg. Net profit 253/acre Range 104 to 482
Winter Barley Costs Other Fixed Costs 18% 80 33 Seed 7% 92 139 Fertiliser 31% Chemicals, 20% 110 Machinery 24%
Example 1: High Cost (Machinery) 200 Acres (All owned) High Machinery cost/acre 180/ac High Level of Exposure A planned machinery strategy- 3 yr. High Fertiliser Bill soil testing, Lime, organic manure. Diesel Bill- A lot of road haulage, under utilised yard and sheds. High input winter crops (wheat), move towards rotation, premiums for seed, mix of crops to spread risk
Example 2: Medium (Machinery) 180 Acres (40 acres leased) Medium machinery costs 110/ac, very good machinery strategy (rotation based on comfortable tax efficient repayment figure) Main focus areas Yields a little low, inputs a little low. Big difference in crop margins within farm. Change parameters for crop choice to get the best crop mix for the farm. The profit from leased land? Plan for reduced SFP 2015-2019 On this scale each machine needs to be carefully planned.
Example 3: Low (Machinery) 176 Acres (all owned) part of a machinery partnership. Low machinery cost 80/ac Machinery partnership Purchases equipment, each member can claim share of capital allowances. Pay monthly charge to cover fuel, repairs, repayments. Equipment can access scale to reduce cost and initial cost shared by a number of people. Planning and crop rotation a key factor, whole farm management despite having different growers.
Conclusion You have more control over cost than price Machinery costs are the most variable cost across farms Justify machinery before you buy - not afterwards
What are your costs? It is very important to plan for the future It was not raining when Noah built the Ark