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January 20, 2005 New Custom Rate Survey Published A North Dakota State University Extension Service circular, “Custom Farm Work Rates on North Dakota Farms (EC-499),” has been updated with 2004 rates and is available on the Web at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/agecon/farmmgt/ec499.pdf. The custom rate survey is conducted every third year, according to Dwight Aakre, NDSU Extension farm management economist. “The North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service conducts the survey in two parts, early-season operations in July and late-season operations in October. The results of both parts are combined in the circular.” The 2004 survey summarized more than 4,700 reports from farmers and ranchers, aerial sprayers, elevators, custom harvesters and other custom operators. This publication shows the number of reports, the range in rates, most frequently reported rate and the average rate for each operation. “Custom rates represent a market-derived price,” Aakre says. “They reflect the supply of and demand for the services rendered, which include the use of the machine, power, fuel, repairs and the operator. As expected, most operations showed an increase in the average reported rate over the previous survey conducted three years ago. The increase in fuel prices this past year contributed to the increased charges, along with higher labor costs and the ever-increasing cost of machinery. These increases are partially offset by the improved efficiency of the latest machinery.” The 2004 survey includes data on some operations previously not included. Custom operations data collected for the first time include land rolling, no-till drilling, row-crop planting with an air seeder, shredding corn stalks and building multistrand wire fence. Rental rates for grain storage and machinery storage have been included in this survey as well. This circular is available from all county offices of the NDSU Extension Service. ### Source:
Dwight Aakre, (701) 231-7378, daakre@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
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North Dakota State University |
