B-1363

June 2020

Jacob Asay, Graduate Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Brian Lee, Associate Research Scientist, James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC)

John Ritten, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Irrigated Alfalfa, Barley, Corn,
and Sugar Beet Budgets

for the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

Irrigated Alfalfa (Establishing), Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

This crop budget is a representative model of establishing irrigated alfalfa in northwest Wyoming. The budget contains estimated costs for one year of alfalfa production. Operation costs in the budget represent the best estimates from multiple sources in northwest Wyoming (Big Horn Co-op, personal communication, October 2019) (P. Kukowski, personal communication, October 2019), as well as University of Nebraska state crop budgets (Klein et al., 2019). University of Minnesota machinery cost estimates (Lazarus, 2019) were used to establish use-related and total costs.

Wyoming ranks 17th among all states in terms of alfalfa production and over 25 percent of production occurred in the northwest region of the state (USDA-NASS, 2018). In terms of acreage, alfalfa is the second most widely produced crop in the state behind grass hay.

Land

This budget is based on the assumption the land base is owned by the producer. Real estate opportunity cost is assumed to be 4 percent per acre of the land value. Real estate taxes are assumed to be 0.74 percent per acre which is based off of the 2019 mill levy assessed property tax rate in northwest Wyoming, no water tax is figured into this budget. The land value is estimated at $2,430 per acre, this is the average value of irrigated cropland in Wyoming according to the most current United States Agricultural Statistics Service Survey, released August 2019 (USDA-NASS, 2019b).

Labor

Labor in this budget is assumed to be provided by the landowner at the rate of $20 per hour for all field operations.

Capital

Interest on operating capital is included at 6.5 percent. This is based on the Wall Street Journal Prime rate (WSJP) current rate of 5.0 percent and the assumption individual lenders will raise personal rates at least an additional 1.5 percent (“Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans”). This percentage is the rate at which the lending institution is charging the operation on loaned capital. Interest is charged on operating capital for cash expenses biannually. This percentage should be adjusted based on the individual producer’s situation.

Field Operations

This enterprise budget is based on the annual assumed yield of 2.5 ton per acre (Klein et al., 2019). This is an assumed average yield for establishing irrigated alfalfa for the first year of production in northwest Wyoming. Due to the variability in products and premiums, no crop insurance is assumed for this budget, and individual operations should adjust this assumption if they purchase crop insurance. One fertilizer application is included, a dry formulation mix, 11-52-0. Round-Up Ready seed is used in this budget which accounts for the higher seed price as compared to conventional alfalfa seed. Also, one application of a pesticide and herbicide was accounted for which is common practice for establishing alfalfa stands. While gravity irrigation has been historically more prevalent in this area, center pivot irrigation is assumed in this budget as more crop-ground is expected to be converted to this irrigation type. Pivot costs are separated into use-related and ownership related. Cost per acre of ownership is assumed to be $62.61/acre, while use related differs by acre-inch of water (USDA-NRCS, 2017).

Power costs and labor costs make up the use-related costs. Power sources for the motor vary between natural gas, single phase to three phase converted electricity and straight three phase electricity. (Other power sources such as diesel may be used, however it is not common in northwest Wyoming, so it was excluded from our budget.) Averages from these three power sources gave us a cost of power per acre inch of water. Per acre use-related and total cost for implement, with associated power units, are averaged over all sizes by implement type in the field operation portion of the budget. Using this approach accounts for all possible tractor types and horsepower sizes.

Sources

Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.farmloans.com/farm-loans/farm-operating-line-of-credit-loans/.

Klein, Robert. Glennis McClure and Roger Wilson. “2019 Nebraska Crop Budgets.” Report No. EC872. University of Nebraska Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Economics-Real-Estate/2019-nebraska-crop-budgets.pdf

Lazarus, William F. April 26, 2019. “Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimation Spreadsheet.” University of Minnesota Extension, St. Paul, MN. http://wlazarus.cfans.umn.edu/william-f-lazarus-farm-machinery-management

Lee, Brian, John Ritten and Tom Foulke. 2018. “Conventional Irrigated Alfalfa (Established), Goshen County, Wyoming.” Fact Sheet. Bulletin B-1315.1. University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. https://www.wyoextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B-1315-1.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2018. “Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 2018”. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_ State/Wyoming/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/WY-2018-Bulletin.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019a. Ag Land, Cropland, Irrigated-Asset Value, Wyoming. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service USDA-NRCS. 2017. 160 Acre Center Pivot Example Estimating Annual Irrigation Operation Costs. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024179.pdf

Irrigated Alfalfa (Established), Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

This crop budget is a representative model of established irrigated alfalfa production in northwest Wyoming. The budget contains estimated costs for one year of alfalfa production. Operation costs in the budget represent the best estimates from multiple sources in northwest Wyoming (Big Horn Co-op, personal communication, October 2019) (P. Kukowski, personal communication, October 2019), as well as University of Nebraska state crop budgets (Klein et al., 2019). University of Minnesota machinery cost estimates (Lazarus, 2019) were used to establish use-related and total costs.

Wyoming ranks 17th among all states in terms of alfalfa production and over 25 percent of production occurred in the northwest region of the state (USDA-NASS, 2018). In terms of acreage, alfalfa is the second most widely produced crop in the state behind grass hay.

Land

This budget assumes the land base is owned by the producer. Real estate opportunity cost is assumed to be 4 percent per acre of the land value. Real estate taxes are assumed to be 0.74 percent per acre which is based on the 2019 mill levy assessed property tax rate in northwest Wyoming, no water tax is assumed for these budgets. The land value is estimated at $2,430 per acre, this is the average value of irrigated cropland in Wyoming according to the most current United States Agricultural Statistics Service Survey, released August 2019 (USDA-NASS, 2019b).

Labor

Labor in this budget is assumed to be provided by the landowner at the rate of $20 per hour for all field operations.

Capital

Interest on operating capital is included at 6.5 percent. This is based on the Wall Street Journal Prime rate (WSJP) current rate of 5.0 percent and the assumption individual lenders will raise personal rates at least an additional 1.5 percent (“Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans”). This percentage is the rate at which the lending institution is charging the operation on loaned capital. Interest is charged on operating capital for cash expenses biannually. This percentage should be adjusted based on the individual producer’s situation.

Field Operations

This enterprise budget is based on the annual assumed yield of 6 ton per acre (Holmgren and Pace, 2016) and three swathing operations. This is an assumed average yield for irrigated alfalfa in northwest Wyoming. Due to the variability in products and premiums, no crop insurance is assumed for this budget, and individual operations should adjust this assumption if they purchase crop insurance.

One fertilizer application is included in this budget, a dry formulation mix, 11-52-0. While gravity irrigation has been historically more prevalent in this area, center pivot irrigation is assumed in this budget as more crop-ground is expected to be converted to this irrigation type. Pivot costs are separated into use-related and ownership related. Cost per acre of ownership is assumed to be $62.61/acre, while use related differs by acre-inch of water (USDA-NRCS, 2017). Power costs and labor costs make up the use-related costs.

Power sources for the motor vary between natural gas, single phase to three phase converted electricity and straight three phase electricity. (Other power sources such as diesel may be used, however it is not common in northwest Wyoming so it was excluded from our budget.) Averages from these three power sources gave us a cost of power per acre inch of water. Per acre use-related and total cost for implement, with associated power units, are averaged over all sizes by implement type in the field operation portion of the budget. Using this approach accounts for all possible tractor types and horsepower sizes.

Sources

Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.farmloans.com/farm-loans/farm-operating-line-of-credit-loans/.

Holmgren, Lyle. Mike Pace. March 2016. “2016 Costs and Returns for Irrigated Alfalfa Box Elder County.” Utah State University, Cooperative Extension. https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/IrrigatedAlfalfa16.pdf

Klein, Robert. Glennis McClure and Roger Wilson. “2019 Nebraska Crop Budgets.” Report No. EC872. University of Nebraska Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Economics-Real-Estate/2019-nebraska-crop-budgets.pdf

Lazarus, William F. April 26, 2019. “Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimation Spreadsheet.” University of Minnesota Extension, St. Paul, MN. http://wlazarus.cfans.umn.edu/william-f-lazarus-farm-machinery-management

Lee, Brian, John Ritten and Tom Foulke. 2018. “Conventional Irrigated Alfalfa (Established), Goshen County, Wyoming.” Fact Sheet. Bulletin B-1315.1. University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. https://www.wyoextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B-1315-1.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2018. “Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 2018”. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_ State/Wyoming/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/WY-2018-Bulletin.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019a. Ag Land, Cropland, Irrigated-Asset Value, Wyoming. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service USDA-NRCS. 2017. 160 Acre Center Pivot Example Estimating Annual Irrigation Operation Costs. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024179.pdf

 

Irrigated Barley for Grain, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

This crop budget is a representative model of irrigated barley harvested for grain production in northwest Wyoming. The budget contains estimated costs for one year of barley production. Operation costs in the budget represent the best estimates from multiple sources in northwest Wyoming (Big Horn Co-op, personal communication, October 2019) (P. Kukowski, personal communication, October 2019), as well as University of Nebraska state crop budgets (Klein et al., 2019). University of Minnesota machinery cost estimates (Lazarus, 2019) were used to establish use-related and total costs.

Barley in Wyoming has two major markets, malt barley and feed barley for livestock. This budget looks at malt barley as that is most common in the northwest part of the state. Many different spring malt barley varieties are planted in northwest Wyoming. The Moravian 69 variety has historically been the most popular seed variety in the state (USDA-NASS, 2012). Different varieties continue to become more prevalent throughout the state, such as Merit 57. Seventy-one thousand acres of barley were planted in northwest Wyoming in 2016, which was 75 percent of the barley planted in the state (USDA-NASS, 2018).

Land

This budget assumes the land base is owned by the producer. Real estate opportunity cost is assumed to be 4 percent per acre of the land value. Real estate taxes are assumed to be 0.74 percent per acre which is based on the 2019 mill levy assessed property tax rate in northwest Wyoming, no water tax is assumed for these budgets. The land value is estimated at $2,430 per acre, this is the average value of irrigated cropland in Wyoming according to the most current United States Agricultural Statistics Service Survey, released August 2019 (USDA-NASS, 2019b).

Labor

Labor in this budget is assumed to be provided by the landowner at the rate of $20 per hour for all field operations except the custom trucking.

Capital

Interest on operating capital is included at 6.5 percent. This is based on the current Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (WSJP) rate of 5.0 percent and the assumption individual lenders will raise personal rates at least an additional 1.5 percent (“Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans”). This percentage is the rate at which the lending institution is charging the operation on loaned capital. Interest is charged on operating capital for cash expenses biannually. This percentage should be adjusted based on the individual producer’s situation.

Field Operations

This enterprise budget is based on the assumed yield of 95 bushels per acre. This is an average yield for irrigated barley in northwest Wyoming. Due to the variability in products and premiums, no crop insurance is assumed for this budget, and individual operations should adjust this assumption if they purchase crop insurance. One fertilizer application is included in this budget, a pre-plant dry formulation mix, 105-50-30.

While gravity irrigation has been historically more prevalent in this area, center pivot irrigation is assumed in this budget as more crop-ground is expected to be converted to this irrigation type. Pivot costs are separated into use-related and ownership related. Cost per acre of ownership is assumed to be $62.61/acre, while use related differs by acre-inch of water (USDA-NRCS, 2017).

Power costs and labor costs make up the use-related costs. Power sources for the motor vary between natural gas, single phase to three phase converted electricity and straight three phase electricity. (Other power sources such as diesel may be used, however it is not common in northwest Wyoming so it was excluded from our budget.) Averages from these three power sources gave us a cost of power per acre inch of water.

Barley is planted in the spring and the budget assumes planting with a conventional grain drill. Barley for grain is harvested in the fall, typically with a direct-cut combine head. Per acre use-related and total cost for implement,

with associated power units, are averaged over all sizes by implement type in the field operation portion of the

budget. Using this approach accounts for all possible tractor types and horsepower sizes.

 

Sources

Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.farmloans.com/farm-loans/farm-operating-line-of-credit-loans/.

Klein, Robert. Glennis McClure and Roger Wilson. “2019 Nebraska Crop Budgets.” Report No. EC872. University of Nebraska Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Economics-Real-Estate/2019-nebraska-crop-budgets.pdf

Lazarus, William F. April 26, 2019. “Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimation Spreadsheet.” University of Minnesota Extension, St. Paul, MN. http://wlazarus.cfans.umn.edu/william-f-lazarus-farm-machinery-management

Lee, Brian, John Ritten and Tom Foulke. 2018. “Conventional Irrigated Corn for Grain, Goshen County, Wyoming.” Fact Sheet. Bulletin B-1315.3. University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. https://www.wyoextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B-1315_3-corn_web.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2012. “Wyoming Barley Varieties 2012. Moravian 69 Reigning Leader for Seventh Year in a Row”. USDA-NASS, Wyoming Field Office, Cheyenne WY. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Wyoming/Publications/Special_ Interest_Reports/bar-var12.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2018. “Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 2018”. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_ State/Wyoming/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/WY-2018-Bulletin.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019a. Ag Land, Cropland, Irrigated-Asset Value, Wyoming. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service USDA-NRCS. 2017. 160 Acre Center Pivot Example Estimating Annual Irrigation Operation Costs. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024179.pdf

Irrigated Corn for Grain, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

This crop budget is a representative model of irrigated corn harvested for grain production in northwest Wyoming. The budget contains estimated costs for one year of corn production. Operation costs in the budget represent the best estimates from multiple sources in northwest Wyoming (Big Horn Co-op, personal communication, October 2019) (P. Kukowski, personal communication, October 2019), as well as University of Nebraska state crop budgets (Klein et al., 2019). University of Minnesota machinery cost estimates (Lazarus, 2019) were used to establish use-related and total costs.

Many different corn varieties are planted in nearly all irrigated acres in Wyoming. In the nation, 92 percent of the corn planted are biotech varieties (USDA-NASS, 2019a). Biotech varieties would include any type of insect resistance, such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), or herbicide resistance, such as glyphosate resistant (GR) corn. Combining modified biotech seed with compatible herbicide and pesticide regimes is common in commercial U.S. corn production. Corn throughout this budget is assumed to be glyphosate resistant.

Land

This budget assumes the land base is owned by the producer. Real estate opportunity cost is assumed to be 4 percent per acre of the land value. Real estate taxes are assumed to be 0.74 percent per acre which is based off of the 2019 mill levy assessed property tax rate in northwest Wyoming, no water tax is assumed for these budgets. The land value is estimated at $2,430 per acre, this is the average value of irrigated cropland in Wyoming according to the most current United States Agricultural Statistics Service Survey, released August 2019 (USDA-NASS, 2019b).

Labor

Labor in this budget is assumed to be provided by the landowner at the rate of $20 per hour for all field operations except the custom trucking.

Capital

Interest on operating capital is included at 6.5 percent. This is based on the Wall Street Journal Prime rate (WSJP) current rate of 5.0 percent and the assumption individual lenders will raise personal rates at least an additional 1.5 percent (“Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans”). This percentage is the rate at which the lending institution is charging the operation on loaned capital. Interest is charged on operating capital for cash expenses biannually. This percentage should be adjusted based on the individual producer’s situation.

Field Operations

This enterprise budget is based on the assumed yield of 180 bushels per acre (Larson et al., 2001). This is an assumed average yield for irrigated corn in northwest Wyoming. Due to the variability in products and premiums, no crop insurance is assumed for this budget, and individual operations should adjust this assumption if they purchase crop insurance. Three fertilizer applications are included in this budget, a pre-plant dry formulation mix 110-50-40-14S, an emergent fertilizer applied at planting and a post-plant application of 32-0-0 liquid fertilizer delivered via fertigation. While gravity irrigation has been historically more prevalent in this area, center pivot irrigation is assumed in this budget as more crop-ground is expected to be converted to this irrigation type. Pivot costs are separated into use-related and ownership related. Cost per acre of ownership is assumed to be $62.61/acre, while use related differs by acre-inch of water (USDA-NRCS, 2017).

Power costs and labor costs make up the use-related costs. Power sources for the motor vary between natural gas, single phase to three phase converted electricity and straight three phase electricity. (Other power sources such as diesel may be used, however it is not common in northwest Wyoming so it was excluded from our budget.) Averages from these three power sources gave us a cost of power per acre inch of water.

This budget assumes most tillage is done in the fall after the corn is harvested and Verdict is added as a spray down herbicide before planting in the spring. If field work is

 

work is completed in the spring, then Verdict is not necessary. Corn is planted in the spring and the budget assumes planting in 30-inch rows 30-inch rows and a plant population of 36,000 plants/acre is common practice in Northwest Wyoming, there are producers who plant at 22-inch row spacing, however, in this research we assume 30-inch row spacing. with a conventional planter. Corn for grain is harvested in the fall, typically with a row crop head. Per acre use-related and total cost for implement, with associated power units, are averaged over all sizes by implement type in the field operation portion of the budget. Using this approach accounts for all possible tractor types and horsepower sizes.

 

Sources

Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.farmloans.com/farm-loans/farm-operating-line-of-credit-loans/.

Klein, Robert. Glennis McClure and Roger Wilson. “2019 Nebraska Crop Budgets.” Report No. EC872. University of Nebraska Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Economics-Real-Estate/2019-nebraska-crop-budgets.pdf

Larson, Kevin. Dennis Thompson and Deborah Harn. March 2001. “Limited and Full Irrigation Comparison for Corn and Grain Sorghum.” Colorado State University, Agricultural Experiment Station. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/aes/prc/pubs/LimitedandFullIrrigationComparisonforCorn.pdf

Lazarus, William F. April 26, 2019. “Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimation Spreadsheet.” University of Minnesota Extension, St. Paul, MN. http://wlazarus.cfans.umn.edu/william-f-lazarus-farm-machinery-management

Lee, Brian, John Ritten and Tom Foulke. 2018. “Conventional Irrigated Corn for Grain, Goshen County, Wyoming.” Fact Sheet. Bulletin B-1315.3. University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. https://www.wyoextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B-1315_3-corn_web.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019a. Ag Land, Cropland, Irrigated-Asset Value, Wyoming. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019b. Acreage, Corn Biotechnology Varieties as a Percent of All Corn Planted – States and United States: 2018 and 2019. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays _Reports/reports/acrg0619.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service USDA-NRCS. 2017. 160 Acre Center Pivot Example Estimating Annual Irrigation Operation Costs. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024179.pdf

Irrigated Sugarbeet, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

This crop budget is a representative model of sugarbeet production in northwest Wyoming. The budget contains estimated costs for one year of sugarbeet production. Operation costs in the budget represent the best estimates from multiple sources in northwest Wyoming (Big Horn Co-op, personal communication, October 2019) (P. Kukowski, personal communication, October 2019), as well as University of Nebraska state crop budgets (Klein et al., 2019), and University of Idaho regional crop budgets (Eborn, 2017). University of Minnesota machinery cost estimates (Lazarus, 2019) were used to establish use-related and total costs.

Sugarbeet is an irrigated crop in Wyoming. This budget refers to conventional sugarbeet which is to say, non‑organic. Almost all of the sugarbeets planted in the state, and in the nation currently, are considered biotech species (Kniss, 2010). For sugarbeets, this means cultivars are glyphosate resistant (GR), that is, genetically engineered to be unaffected by glyphosate herbicides accordingly, the budget uses this commonly occurring seed and herbicide combination. In Wyoming, 33,100 acres of sugarbeet were reported in the March planting forecast for 2019 (USDA-NASS 2019b). Sugarbeet throughout this budget is assumed to be glyphosate resistant.

Land

This budget is based on the assumption the land base is owned by the producer. Real estate opportunity cost is assumed to be 4 percent per acre of the land value. Real estate taxes are assumed to be 0.74 percent per acre based on the 2019 mill levy assessed property tax rate in northwest Wyoming, no water tax is figured in this budget. The land value is estimated to be $2,430 per acre. This is the average value of irrigated cropland in Wyoming according to the most current United States Agricultural Statistics Service Survey, released August 2019 (USDA-NASS, 2019a).

Labor

Labor in this budget is assumed to be provided by the landowner at the rate of $20 per hour for all field operations except the custom trucking.

Capital

Interest on operating capital is included at 6.5 percent. This is based on the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (WSJP) current rate of 5.0 percent and the assumption individual lenders will raise percentage rates at least an additional 1.5 percent (“Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans”). This percentage is the rate which the lending institution charges the operation on loaned capital. Interest is charged on operating capital for cash expenses biannually. This percentage should be adjusted based on the individual producer’s situation.

Field Operations

This enterprise budget is based on the assumed yield of 29 ton per acre (USDA-NASS. 2018). This is an average yield for irrigated sugarbeet in northwest Wyoming. Due to the variability in products and premiums, no crop insurance is assumed for this budget, and individual operations should adjust this assumption if they purchase crop insurance. Three fertilizer applications are included in this budget, a pre-plant dry formulation mix, 115-80-10-36S, an emergent fertilizer applied at planting and a post-plant application of 32-0-0 liquid fertilizer delivered via fertigation. The spraying protocol for the sugarbeet is three applications of glyphosate and one application of both a grass herbicide, and a fungicide. While gravity irrigation has been historically more prevalent in this area, center pivot irrigation is assumed in this budget as more crop-ground is expected to be converted to this irrigation type. Pivot costs are separated into use-related and ownership related. Cost per acre of ownership is assumed to be $62.61/acre, while use related differs by acre-inch of water (USDA-NRCS, 2017). Power costs and labor costs make up the use-related costs. Power sources for the motor vary between natural gas, single phase to three phase converted electricity and straight three phase electricity. (Other power sources such as diesel may be used, however it is not common in northwest Wyoming so it was excluded from our budget.) Averages from these three power sources yielded a cost of power per acre inch of water.

Sugarbeets are planted in May with a 12-row planter on 22-inch rows. The beets are topped and harvested in

 

September through October. Per acre use-related and total cost for implement, with associated power units, are averaged over all sizes by implement type in the field operation portion of the budget. Using this approach accounts for all possible tractor types and horsepower sizes.

Sources

Eborn, Ben. 2017 “Eastern Idaho: Bigham and Power Counties Sugarbeets.” Report No. EBB4-SU-17. University of Idaho, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Moscow, ID. https://www.uidaho.edu/-/media/UIdaho-Responsive/Files/cals/programs/idaho-agbiz/crop-budgets/Southeastern-irrigated/ebb4-su-17.pdf?la=en&hash=BD115DDF7297 CC8F43ABBC181660BE14D899A332

Farm Operating Loans: Farm Equity Line of Credit Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.farmloans.com/farm-loans/farm-operating-line-of-credit-loans/

Klein, Robert. Glennis McClure and Roger Wilson. “2019 Nebraska Crop Budgets.” Report No. EC872. University of Nebraska Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Economics-Real-Estate/2019-nebraska-crop-budgets.pdf

Kniss, Andrew, W. 2010. “Comparison of Conventional and Glyphosate-Resistant Sugarbeet the Year of Commercial Introduction in Wyoming.” Journal of Sugarbeet Research 47(3,4):127-134.
https://www.bsdf-assbt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/JSBRVol473and4p127to134CompasisonofConventionalandGlyphosate-ResistanSugarbeettheYarofCommercialInductioninWyoming.pdf

Lazarus, William F. April 26, 2019. “Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimation Spreadsheet.” University of Minnesota Extension, St. Paul, MN. http://wlazarus.cfans.umn.edu/william-f-lazarus-farm-machinery-management

Lee, Brian, John Ritten and Tom Foulke. 2018. “Conventional Irrigated Sugarbeet, Goshen County, Wyoming.” Fact Sheet. Bulletin B-1315.4. University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. https://www.wyoextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B-1315-4.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2018. “Wyoming Agricultural Statistics 2018”. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_ State/Wyoming/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/WY-2018-Bulletin.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA-NASS. 2019a. Ag Land, Cropland, Irrigated-Asset Value, Wyoming. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS). 2019b. Sugarbeet, Acres Planted, Wyoming. Quick Stats Online Tool. https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service USDA-NRCS. 2017. 160 Acre Center Pivot Example Estimating Annual Irrigation Operation Costs. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024179.pdf

Issued in furtherance of extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kelly Crane, director, University of Wyoming Extension, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071. • The University’s policy has been, and will continue to be, one of nondiscrimination, offering equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without regard to such matters as race, sex, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political belief, or other status protected by state and federal statutes or University Regulations.

B-1362

June 2020

Jacob Asay, Graduate Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Brian Lee, Associate Research Scientist, James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC)

John Ritten, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Editor: Katie Shockley, University of Wyoming Extension

Designer: Tanya Engel, University of Wyoming Extension