Table 6.  Mechanization Appropriate for Farm Size and Operation Intensity.  (Note: these are not absolute categories - needs will vary, and one farm may use items from more than one column.  Also, in the intermediate levels, it may make sense to rent or borrow equipment listed in the "high" category rather than to purchase it.)

 

 

Range of Mechanization

 

None

Low

Medium

High

 

 

 

 

 

Tillage

Hand/shovel

small rototiller

large rototiller

tractor mounted plow, spader, rotovator

Weeding

by hand, combined with mulch, flame, etc.

some plastic or fabric  row cover, walk behind wheel hoe

walk behind rototiller/cultivator

tractor mounted cultivation equipment, flame

Planting

hand seed, hand transplant

push seeder, use wheel hoe to make furrow

rototiller to make furrow, attach seeder?

tractor mounted seeder and transplanter

Leaf harvest

by hand

hand with large loppers

electric hedge trimmer

sickle bar mower

Root harvest

shovel, fork

shovel or fork with more labor, or borrow equipment?

furrow with tractor or tiller, hand separate

root digger (carrot or potato)

Root washing

by hand, hose, bucket

mounted screens, pressure washer

rent or borrow barrel washer

barrel root washer

Flower Harvesting

by hand

hand rake (chamomile example)

modified hedge trimmer?

commercial flower harvester

Drying

air dry, small batches

air dry, large batches

small forced air heater/dryer

large forced air heater/dryer

 

 

 

 

 

Approximate size of operation:

0.1 - 1.0 acres

1.0-2.0

2.0-5.0

5.0+

Equipment Price range (per item):

$0-20

$20-$100

$100-$2000

$2000-$25,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            In Table 7, you will see an example of fixed cost budget calculations.  These are investments that are made up front with expenses that will be there whether you plant a crop or not.  The standard way to account for land costs is to either use the interest on the value of the land, if purchased, or the rental cost, if rented.  In this example, the land was purchased, and a per acre per year cost was determined ($80).  When this number is used in an actual herb enterprise budget, take this figure time the number of (or fraction of) an acre that is used for that herb.

 

            Building and equipment costs are also assigned values based on the interest if the money was borrowed (theoretically the opportunity cost of the money, if it wasn't borrowed), and the depreciation.  Depreciation is simply the total cost of the building or piece of equipment divided the number of anticipated useful years of the item.  There are some standard values used for tax purposes, but for these budgets, use your best realistic estimate.  The percentage of time or space that the herb business on your farm as compared to other enterprises is also taken into account (column 2).  The number of hours per year used for herbs (column 7) is used to come up with a per hour estimate cost for the item.  This value is used in Table 10.  After completing Table 10, or after a field season where hours of usage has been tracked you find that the total hours estimate in column 7 is wrong, re-adjust, and recalculate column 8.

 

            Now complete Table 8, using expenses and fixed inputs from your own farm.  Include land, facilities, and equipment that are part of the farm now, and also items that you intend to purchase if you go into the herb business.

 

Table 7.  Example  calculation for fixed costs budget for adding an herb business to an existing farm.

 

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Item

Cost of Item

Share or amount used

Total Cost

Useful life (years)

Depreciation $/year

Interest$/yr  (8% of total cost)

Number of hours per year used

Cost ($)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Cropland

$1000/A

2 acres

$2000

na1

na

$160

na

$80/

A/year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improvements and Facilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Storage Buildings

$5000

10%

$500

10

$50

$40

na

$90/yr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Tractor

$12,000

50%

$6,000

20

$300

$480

120

$6.50/hr

     Rotovator

$3000

100%

$3000

15

$200

$240

50

$8.80/hr

     Cultivator

$500

100%

$500

15

$33

$30

70

$0.90/hr

     Farm truck

$25,000

2%

$500

5

$100

$40

25

$5.60/hr

     Storage Containers

$100

100%

$100

5

$20

$8

na

$28/yr

     Drying Frames

$200

100%

$200

5

$40

$16

na

$56/yr

     Hand tools

$200

90%

$180

10

$18

$14

50

$0.65/hr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Fixed Costs

 

 

$12,980

 

$761

$1028

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1Not Applicable.

 

2Note:  gas, oil, and repairs are not included in equipment costs.  A formula or percentage may be used to estimate future costs, or farm records can be used to record actual costs. 

 

3Use the numbers in this column to complete Table 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 8.  Worksheet for calculating fixed costs.  This table should include existing equipment, new equipment purchases, and used/rebuilt equipment.

 

 

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Item

Cost of Item

Share or amount used

Total Cost

Useful life (years)

Depreciation $/year

Interest$/yr  (8% of total cost)

Number of hours per year used

Cost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Cropland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Woodland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Other land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improvements and Facilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Storage Buildings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Dryers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Other