Data Highlights
Introduction
Set out below are the benchmark average costs for each operation, some of the performance factors for labour and various machinery categories and the work rates achieved.
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Key points extracted from the Joint Venture Farming Group full membership data.
| JOINT VENTURE FARMING GROUP | |||
| GLOBAL BENCHMARKING RESULTS | |||
| 2005 Harvest | 2006 Harvest | 2007 Harvest | |
| Operations Costs | £/Ha | £/Ha | £/Ha |
| Primary Cultivations | 18.75 | 32.85 | 27.92 |
| Secondary Cultivations | 8.41 | 19.43 | 16.34 |
| Drilling | 12.71 | 19.53 | 19.32 |
| Rolling | 4.40 | 5.63 | 5.82 |
| Fertiliser Application | 5.43 | 3.65 | 3.96 |
| Spraying | 3.54 | 3.34 | 3.18 |
| Harvesting | 55.51 | 54.58 | 46.84 |
| Carting | 8.66 | 6.65 | 15.44 |
| Labour Analysis | |||
| Labour Efficiency | 69.6% | 75.1% | 61.8% |
| Average Costs per hour | 10.37 | 10.57 | 9.90 |
| Machinery Analysis | £/Ha | £/Ha | £/Ha |
| Combine Harvesters | 52.84 | 42.04 | 41.45 |
| Crawlers | 11.92 | 13.17 | 11.85 |
| Sprayers | 2.42 | 1.97 | 2.65 |
| Work Rates | Ha/Hr | Ha/Hr | Ha/Hr |
| Primary Cultivations | 2.65 | 1.55 | 2.11 |
| Secondary Cultivations | 4.86 | 2.67 | 3.44 |
| Drilling | 3.33 | 3.51 | 2.75 |
| Rolling | 8.09 | 6.07 | 5.91 |
| Fertiliser Application | 12.80 | 8.42 | 8.89 |
| Spraying | 8.07 | 10.17 | 9.55 |
| Harvesting & Carting | 2.79 | 2.45 | 2.14 |
Benchmarking Summary Commentary
The global benchmark figures are taken as an average of all groups within the survey. When reviewing the results it is important to recognise the following points:- The average is taken across all soil types. Therefore differences can be seen on predominantly light or heavy land.
- The figures do not include any management input cost.
- No profit margin is included. The figures shown purely relate to the cost of doing the operation or running the machine.
- The addition of all the operations costs does not represent the annual cost as some jobs are done more than once.
The following points are some general observations from the 2007 survey:
- The total operations cost has reduced from £145.66 per hectare to £138.82 per hectare. This is a reduction of 4.70%
- Primary and secondary cultivations saw a reduction of 15.3%. This was partly as a result of increased work rates even in a difficult season across some parts of the country. It is also acknowledged that more light land farms were included in the survey, which also contributed to lower cost because of the reduced number of passes.
- Drilling costs were broadly static. Although work rates were down, this was compensated for by lower machine costs.
- Harvesting and carting costs saw a 1.7% increase. Machine costs were down by £0.59 per hectare but the work rates also reduced by 0.31 hectare per hour.
- Labour efficiency fell from 75.1% to 61.8% because of the inclement weather. The average labour cost reduced because of the inclusion of some cheaper casual workers.