1 of 10

Know YOUR Costs To Grow

Tanya Murray, Farm Viability Specialist, Oregon Tilth

2 of 10

What is the costing tool for?

Determining costs of production for YOUR orchard

    • Single Year Analysis
    • Multi-Year Analysis

Scenario planning – What If?

    • Invest in fertility program and increase yields
    • Transition orchard to certified organic
    • Compare OTR harvester versus standard harvester

3 of 10

How does the costing tool work?

  1. Enter production activities and labor rates
  2. Enter machinery costs per hour of use
  3. Enter inputs costs per application
  4. Select activities, machinery, and inputs for the scenario
  5. Evaluate results

4 of 10

Scenario 1

Standard Harvester

Scenario 2

OTR Harvester

Scenario 3

OTR Harvester

Standard Harvester

OTR Harvester

125 Hours

OTR Harvester

250 Hours

Scraping

No Scraping

No Scraping

Flail Mow 2x

No Flail Mow

No Flail Mow

Rotary Mow 4x

Rotary Mow 2x

Rotary Mow 2x

Costs = $17,139

Costs = $16,860

Costs = $15,526

Warning/Disclaimer: These cost results are for tool demonstration purposes only.

5 of 10

Capacity Utilization: What’s feasible?

  • Production Scale

250 hours at 50 minutes per acre = 300 acres24 hours/day for 10 days = 240 hours

10 hours/day for 25 days = 250 hours

  • Diversify crop mix?
  • Share rental?

6 of 10

Other benefits to explore…

  • Plant Cover Crop

Fix atmospheric Nitrogen, build soil organic matter, limit erosion and reduce input costs

  • Plant Cash Crop

Additional revenues while trees are young, yields are low

  • Graze Livestock

Forage for livestock, additional revenues or reduce feed costs (90-day rule (in this case) for Organic)

7 of 10

tanya@tilth.org

503-638-0735

8 of 10

9 of 10

Scenario 1

Standard Harvester

Scenario 2

OTR Harvester

Scenario 3

OTR Harvester

Standard Harvester

OTR Harvester

125 Hours

OTR Harvester

250 Hours

Scraping

No Scraping

No Scraping

Flail Mow 2x

No Flail Mow

No Flail Mow Pass

Rotary Mow 4x

Rotary Mow

Rotary Mow

10 of 10