Estimating Farm Machinery Costs [Ag Decision Maker]

This set of interactive farm management tools helps producers estimate the costs associated with owning and operating key grain-handling equipment. The toolset includes calculators for machinery ownership costs, grain truck transportation costs, and grain wagon transportation costs. Users can enter information such as purchase price, equipment age, fuel and labor costs, repair expenses, hauling capacity, and annual use to estimate per-unit and annual operating costs. The tools are based on the economic methods used in Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Ag Decision Maker resources and allow producers to evaluate equipment investments, compare transportation methods, and better understand the true cost of moving grain from field to market.