Custom Machine Work Rate Estimates Available

May 02, 2017

By Dennis Stein

Farms are gearing up for the 2017 crop production season during which farms trying to keep costs under control may utilize neighbors’ equipment to perform some production tasks.

The Michigan “Farm Machine Work Rate for 2017” summary report has been posted on the Michigan State University Extension FIRM – farm management page to be used as a reference tool. This report has been updated to provide Michigan farms with estimated values for farm machine work exchanges. This report is not an actual cost on any one farm, but is a summary of custom rate values taken from several sources. The report has been compiled and published to be a reference, or starting point for farms to use in negotiating their own farm’s actual numbers.

The one bright spot is that the price of fuel is lower than the last several year’s reports, providing some relief in the estimated operational costs.

For farms looking back, you can find a copy of the past couple years Farm Machine Work Rate reports still posted on the page.

Source:msu.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.