Many Iowa farmers hire some custom machine work in their farm business or perform custom work for others. Others rent machinery or perform other services. In order to help producers and custom operators examine the market, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publishes the Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey, available at bit.ly/3nJbVXL.
This year’s survey includes 94 responses and 2,621 custom rates for tasks related to tillage, planting and seeding, spraying, harvesting, farm labor and more. Additions to the survey for 2023 include ground (broadcast) spraying with a self-propelled, tall-crop sprayer and liquid fertilizer high clearance application with drop hose and Y spray nozzle. Most custom rates saw an increase of 10 to 15%. Custom planting ranges from $12.50 to $45 per acre, depending on the type of planter and setup.
Combining corn shows an average of $41.30 per acre and combining soybeans averages $39.90 per acre, an increase of 12.4% and 10.7%, respectively. This year’s publication as well as previous reports can be found on the Ag Decision Maker website at bit.ly/3Zx5lkc.
The information in the survey is meant to be a starting point for farmers and agribusiness to engage in conversations and negotiations. The survey is not meant to set the rate for a particular practice or operator. This is an opinion survey and represents the responses of participants.
