MACHINERY CUSTOM RATES
The custom rates shown are averages from voluntary reports by custom operators and farmers throughout Pennsylvania. Most of the rates are stated per acre, cwt., ton, bale, or bushel
rather than per hour to reduce the variation due to machinery size. Individual rates vary due to
differences in working conditions, services performed, or even the operator's eagerness to do
custom work. Therefore, the average rates shown should not be considered absolute indications
of fair charges.
Acreage rates are shown separately for two regions of the state, labeled "Mountain" and "Valley". The differences in rates between regions reflect differences in terrain, soils and alternative opportunities for the labor and equipment used. Figures labeled "State" represent the straight average of all reports used regardless of geographic location.
Of the 68 rates with year-to-year comparisons, 48 have increased, 16 have decreased, and 4 are the same as last year. The overall average is up 4 percent from the previous year. This percentage increase was computed by adding the rates for all jobs, regardless of basis of charge, and dividing by last year's comparable total.
| Job | Basis of Charge | Mountain Section | Valley Section | State |
| --------- Harvesting --------- | ||||
| Corn Picking | Acre | 21 .70 | 21 .60 | 21 .80 |
| Corn Combining | Acre | 25 .60 | 24 .20 | 24 .60 |
| Corn Drying (23 Percent) | Bushel | 0 .29 | 0 .27 | 0 .28 |
| Combining Small Grains | Acre | 23 .00 | 23 .00 | 23 .00 |
| Combining Soybeans | Acre | 25 .40 | 24 .20 | 24 .50 |
| Hay Making: | ||||
| Mowing | Acre | 9 .80 | 9 .30 | 9 .80 |
| Mowing & Conditioning | Acre | 10 .80 | 10 .80 | 10 .80 |
| Raking | Acre | 6 .10 | 5 .70 | 6 .10 |
| Pick-up Baling (Twine) | Bale | 0 .40 | 0 .40 | 0 .40 |
| Cut, Rake, Bale & Store | Bale | 0 .98 | 0 .99 | 0 .99 |
| Large Round Baler (Avg. = 1000 Lbs) | Bale | 6 .40 | 6 .00 | 6 .20 |
| Stacker-Wagon (Avg. = 1700 Lbs) | Stack | 16 .30 | 16 .30 | 16 .30 |
| Wrapping Bales 1/ | Bale | N/A | N/A | 5 .40 |
| Silage Making: | ||||
| Pull-Type Chopper & Tractor | Hour | 44 .80 | 48 .10 | 46 .90 |
| Self-Propelled Chopper | Hour | 75 .00 | 90 .50 | 88 .20 |
| Blower | Hour | 8 .30 | 8 .20 | 8 .10 |
| 1 Man, 2 Wagons, 1 Tractor | Hour | 34 .70 | 38 .50 | 37 .60 |
| 2 Men, 2 Wagons, 2 Tractors | Hour | 53 .40 | 53 .70 | 53 .60 |
| Field Chop, Haul & Fill Silo | Ton | 8 .40 | 7 .20 | 7 .60 |
| Bagging Silage 1/ | Foot | N/A | N/A | 4 .20 |
| --------- Plowing & Cultivating --------- | ||||
| Plowing, Moldboard Plow: | ||||
| Spring, Stubble | Acre | 11 .40 | 12 .30 | 12 .00 |
| Sod | Acre | 12 .80 | 13 .30 | 13 .10 |
| Fall, Stubble | Acre | 12 .00 | 12 .40 | 12 .30 |
| Sod | Acre | 12 .30 | 13 .30 | 13 .00 |
| Plowing, Deep (10 Inches or More) | Acre | 14 .10 | 15 .10 | 14 .70 |
| Plowing, Chisel | Acre | 11 .90 | 12 .10 | 12 .00 |
| Plowing, Disk | Acre | 10 .70 | 10 .50 | 10 .60 |
| Disking, Tandem | Acre | 9 .90 | 9 .70 | 9 .90 |
| With Harrow or Cultipacker | Acre | 10 .60 | 11 .20 | 11 .00 |
| Harrowing: | ||||
| Spike Tooth | Acre | 8 .20 | 8 .00 | 8 .10 |
| Spring Tooth | Acre | 8 .00 | 8 .10 | 8 .10 |
| Cultivating | Acre | 8 .70 | 8 .40 | 8 .50 |
| --------- Planting & Drilling --------- | ||||
| Planting Corn With Fertilizer: | ||||
| Conventional-Till Planting | Acre | 12 .50 | 11 .90 | 12 .10 |
| Reduced-Till Planting | Acre | 13 .50 | 13 .00 | 13 .10 |
| No-Till | Acre | 15 .30 | 14 .10 | 14 .30 |
| Planting Soybeans, Without Fertilizer: | ||||
| Conventional-Till | Acre | 10 .00 | 12 .30 | 11 .80 |
| Reduced-Till | Acre | 13 .20 | 13 .50 | 13 .40 |
| No-Till | Acre | 15 .10 | 14 .60 | 14 .70 |
| Drilling Small Grain: | ||||
| Without Fertilizer | Acre | 10 .10 | 11 .60 | 11 .30 |
| With Fertilizer | Acre | 10 .30 | 12 .00 | 11 .30 |
| With Fertilizer & Cloverseed | Acre | 10 .75 | 11 .76 | 11 .30 |
| Seeding Alfalfa, Clover, Etc. | Acre | 10 .40 | 12 .50 | 12 .00 |
| Job | Basis of Charge | Mountain Section | Valley Section | State |
| --------- Planting & Drilling (Continued) --------- | ||||
| Broadcast Seeding (On Grain Fields) | Acre | 5 .50 | 6 .60 | 6 .20 |
| Cleaning Grain Seed: | ||||
| With Treatment | Bushel | 0 .80 | 0 .90 | 0 .80 |
| Without Treatment | Bushel | 0 .50 | 0 .60 | 0 .50 |
| --------- Spraying --------- | ||||
| Ground Equipment: | ||||
| Spraying for Weed Control: | ||||
| Excluding Material | Acre | 7 .60 | 6 .80 | 7 .10 |
| Spraying for Corn Borer: | ||||
| Including Cost of Material | Acre | 10 .20 | 10 .90 | 10 .70 |
|
Excluding Cost of Material |
Acre | 7 .30 | 6 .50 | 6 .80 |
| Spraying for Spittle Bug or Alfalfa Weevil: | ||||
| Including Cost of Material | Acre | 12 .50 | 11 .40 | 11 .80 |
| Excluding Cost of Material | Acre | 8 .10 | 6 .80 | 7 .20 |
| Aerial Application (Excluding Material): | ||||
| Fixed Wing | Acre | 9 .30 | 8 .30 | 8 .50 |
| Helicopter | Acre | 11 .30 | 9 .40 | 9 .90 |
| --------- Miscellaneous --------- | ||||
| Grain Hauling: | ||||
| Local | Bushel | 0 .15 | 0 .14 | 0 .14 |
| Long Distance | Bushel | 0 .30 | 0 .30 | 0 .30 |
| Grain Storage | Bushel Per Month | .04 | .04 | .04 |
| Stalk Shredding, P.T.O. | Acre | 9 .00 | 9 .10 | 9 .00 |
| Spreading Bulk Fertilizer: | ||||
| Dry | Acre | 5 .30 | 5 .70 | 5 .50 |
| Liquid | Acre | 6 .55 | 6 .65 | 6 .60 |
| Side Dressing | Acre | 7 .50 | 7 .20 | 7 .30 |
| Grinding Feed: | ||||
| Corn, Oats or Barley | Hundredweight | 0 .62 | 0 .60 | 0 .61 |
| Corn & Cobs | Hundredweight | 0 .59 | 0 .53 | 0 .56 |
| Cobs | Hundredweight | 0 .55 | 0 .60 | 0 .58 |
| Additional Charge for Mixing | Hundredweight | 0 .23 | 0 .29 | 0 .27 |
| Machine Tiling (No Tile) | Foot | 0 .65 | 0 .69 | 0 .67 |
| Back Hoe | Hour | 36 .10 | 42 .40 | 39 .40 |
| Sawing Wood, Chain Saw | Hour | 17 .10 | 15 .20 | 16 .10 |
| Post Hole Digging | Hole | 1 .60 | 1 .30 | 1 .40 |
| Manure Loading, Solid | Hour | 29 .60 | 30 .30 | 30 .10 |
| Manure Spreading, Solid | Hour | 22 .50 | 28 .40 | 26 .40 |
| Manure Pumping 1/ | Hour | N/A | N/A | 24 .50 |
| Manure Spreading, Liquid 1/ | Hour | N/A | N/A | 44 .40 |
| Bulldozing (Avg. H.P. 80) | Hour | 51 .10 | 56 .00 | 53 .70 |
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