🌾 GRAIN AUTOMATE

Economic Model

⚙️ Model Parameters

Settings

🏠 Home

Getting Started

📋 Farm Setup

📊 Analysis & Results

💾 Configuration

Getting Started

Welcome to the Grain Automate Economic Model Calculator

Farm Identity

Farm Name This name will be used in reports and configuration files

Description Optional notes to help identify this model

Welcome

This calculator helps you model the economics of your farming operation by:

Configuring your farm layout and crop allocation
Defining your equipment fleet with financing and operating costs
Managing crop inputs and management practices
Analyzing scenarios and comparing alternatives
Generating comprehensive cost reports and results

Getting Started: Load an existing configuration or start building a new model by proceeding to Farm Details.

Quick Actions

Load Existing Configuration

Load a previously saved farm configuration to continue working or review past analyses.

Start New Model

Begin building a new economic model from scratch. You'll be guided through each step.

Farm Templates (Coming Soon)

Future feature: Pre-configured farm templates for common scenarios:

Continue to Farm Details

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

⚙️ Equipment Mechanism Preferences

Coming Soon: This feature is currently under development and will be available in a future release. Default preferences are being used.

🔧 Equipment Maintenance Rates

Configure maintenance cost parameters for different equipment types. These settings affect ongoing repair and maintenance cost calculations.

Equipment Type	Base Repair Rate	Age Multiplier	Complexity Factor	Est. Hours/Year*	Actions
Loading maintenance rates...

*Hours/Year is used for estimating maintenance costs on the Equipment page. Actual operating hours will be calculated based on field operations and task assignments.

⛽ Fuel Load Factors (Tractor-Powered Equipment)

Load factors represent the percentage of rated power used during operation. These apply ONLY to tractor-powered equipment.

Equipment Type	Load Factor	Description
Loading fuel load factors...

Load Factor Guide: High load (0.75-0.85): Heavy soil work. Medium (0.65-0.75): Standard operations. Low (0.25-0.40): Idling/light transport. Very low (0.05-0.20): Intermittent PTO work.

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

🛢️ Consumables

Fuel and lubrication costs for equipment operation.

Diesel ($/litre)

Cost per litre of diesel fuel

Lubrication (% of fuel cost)

Lubrication cost as a fraction of fuel cost (default: 0.15 = 15%)

💰 Economic Parameters

Annual inflation rates and insurance parameters. Inflation applies year-over-year (compound) to respective cost categories.

📈 Annual Inflation Rates

Inputs Inflation (%)

Applied to seed, fertiliser, chemicals

Wage Inflation (%)

Applied to labour costs

Operating Inflation (%)

Applied to fuel, contractor services

🛡️ Insurance Rates

Equipment Insurance (%)

Annual insurance as percentage of equipment value

Insurance Depreciation Factor

Insurance book value depreciates at this rate × tax depreciation (0.5 = half-rate)

Crop Insurance (%)

Annual insurance as percentage of crop value (yield × price)

👤 Labour Costs

Labour costs represent total cost to the farm, including wages, superannuation, payroll tax, workers compensation insurance, etc.

Labour Type	Rate	Actions	Description
Default Labour Cost	$ /hour		Used when no specific rate is set
Optional: Enable specific rates to override default
Tractor/Equipment Operator	$ /hour		General field operations
Harvester Operator	$ /hour		Harvesting operations
Truck Driver	$ /hour		Transport operations
Autonomous System Operator	$ /hour		Setup/monitoring autonomous equipment

👷 Contractor Service Rates

Default rates for contractor services by category and service tier. These rates are used as defaults when configuring contractor options in task management.

Service Name	Rate ($)	Unit	Fuel Supply	Actions	Notes
Loading contractor service rates...

Service tiers allow different pricing levels (e.g., Full Service vs Header Only). These defaults can be customized per crop in the Task Management page.

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

🏦 Equipment Financing

Default financing parameters for standard equipment purchases (tractors, harvesters, sprayers, etc.)

Term (years)

Loan duration in years

Interest Rate (%)

Annual interest rate

Deposit (%)

Initial deposit as percentage of purchase price

Balloon Payment (%)

Final balloon payment as percentage of purchase price

🤖 Autonomous Technology Financing

Separate financing parameters for autonomous technology add-ons and precision agriculture systems

Term (years)

Loan duration in years

Interest Rate (%)

Annual interest rate

Deposit (%)

Initial deposit as percentage of technology cost

Balloon Payment (%)

Final balloon payment as percentage of technology cost

👨‍🏭 Spot Spray Technology Financing

Separate financing parameters for spot spray systems and precision agriculture technology

Term (years)

Loan duration in years

Interest Rate (%)

Annual interest rate

Deposit (%)

Initial deposit as percentage of system cost

Balloon Payment (%)

Final balloon payment as percentage of system cost

📉 Depreciation

Default depreciation calculation method for equipment

Depreciation Method

ATO-compliant depreciation calculation method

📊 ATO Depreciation Rates

Click to unlock

ATO effective life years for equipment depreciation. Rates are automatically calculated from effective life. Locked by default - unlock to customize values.

Asset Type	Effective Life	Diminishing Rate	Prime Cost Rate	Reference	Actions
Loading ATO depreciation rates...

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

🌧️ Environmental Zones

Configure weed burden indices for each rainfall zone. These affect spot spray chemical application rates during fallow spraying operations.

Rainfall Zone

Weed Burden Index

Loading rainfall zones...

📦 Bale Sizes

Configure bale weights for rate-based equipment calculations. Bale dimensions are reference data and cannot be edited.

Type	Display Name	Category	Size	Metric	Weight (kg)
Loading bale sizes...

⚡ Operational Parameters

Equipment efficiencies and working speeds loaded from equipment registry. Only shows equipment types enabled in Equipment Preferences. ASABE Field Efficiency ranges provided in brackets where available.

Equipment Type	Efficiency	Working Speed	Configure
Loading equipment operational parameters...

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

👨‍🏭 Spot Spraying

Precision spray technology parameters and costs

Remote Sensing ($/ha)

Cost per hectare for remote sensing and monitoring services. Applied per pass - for example, multiple fallow sprays require a sensing pass for each to locate weeds for targeted spot spraying.

Spot Spray Chemical Savings

Default chemical savings percentages for spot spray systems by task type

System Type	Fallow Spraying (%)	Post-Emergence (%)
GoB (Green on Brown)
GoG (Green on Green)

Chemical savings represent the percentage reduction in herbicide use compared to blanket application. These settings apply to all spot spray systems of each type.

⚙️ Spot Spray System Parameters

Configure cost and performance parameters for different spot spray technology systems. These settings affect spot spray system selection and cost calculations on the Equipment page.

System Name	Type	Fixed Cost ($)	Variable ($/m)	Subscription ($/ha)	Remote Sensing	Actions
Loading spot spray parameters...

Fixed Cost is a one-time upfront cost. Variable cost is multiplied by boom width. Subscription is per-hectare annual cost.

🤖 Automation

Labour savings percentages for autonomous equipment by category

Equipment Category	Labour Savings (%)
Loading autonomous labour settings...

Labour savings represent the percentage reduction in operator time when using autonomous versions of equipment. These apply to all equipment within each category regardless of self-propelled or tractor-pulled configuration.

Settings Integration: These values serve as defaults for the calculator. Changing these settings will not override custom values already entered in the calculator unless specifically notified.

🌾 Crop Registry

All available crops. Use Configure Crop Inputs button below to add missing rainfall zones.

Crop	Winter Crop	Summer Crop	Info	Actions
Loading crops...

Crop Configuration

Configure default inputs and management for each crop by rainfall zone.

🌾 Crop Yields

Configure expected yields for each crop by rainfall zone (t/ha). Used for rate-based equipment calculations and contractor estimates.

Crop	Low Rainfall	Medium Rainfall	High Rainfall	Straw Ratio	Actions
	(t/ha)	(t/ha)	(t/ha)	(t straw per t grain)
Loading crop yields...

🔄 Rotation Library

Manage crop rotation sequences. These rotations are available for assignment in farm setup.

Filter by Type

Loading...

Rotation Name	Type	Crop Sequence	Source	Actions
Loading rotations...

⚗️ Master Input Library

Manage the library of crop inputs (chemicals, fertilizers, seed treatments). Changes to costs here will affect all crops using these inputs.

Filter by Category

Search

Loading...

Input Name	Category	Cost	Unit	Source	Actions
Loading inputs...

Set crop-specific working speeds for harvesting. The default header speed is set in the main Operational Parameters table.

Default Header Speed

Set in main table above. Used for crops without overrides.

Crop-Specific Overrides

Enable	Crop	Speed (km/h)
Loading crops...

Active overrides: 0 crops

Set crop-specific working speeds for windrowing. The default windrower speed is set in the main Operational Parameters table.

Default Windrower Speed

Set in main table above. Used for crops without overrides.

Crop-Specific Overrides

Enable	Crop	Speed (km/h)
Loading crops...

Active overrides: 0 crops

Select an input from your Master Input Library to add to ( rainfall).

Filter by Category

Search

Input Name	Category	Cost	Unit
Loading...

1

Basic Info

2

Inputs

3

Management

4

Review

Basic Information

Season * Select when this crop is typically grown.

Crop Name *

Please enter a crop name.

Display Name: -

Icon *

Clone From Existing Crop (Optional) Select a crop to copy its inputs and management events as a starting point.

Configure Crop Inputs

Configure variable costs and inputs for each rainfall zone.

Note: You only need to configure rainfall zones relevant to your farm. Click "Confirm" on each zone you want to include. At least one zone is required.
Important: In Step 3, you must configure management events for each zone you confirm here.

Configure Management Events

Configure the sequence of farming operations for each rainfall zone.

Note: Only configure management for the rainfall zones you confirmed in Step 2. Click "Confirm" on each zone when done.

Review New Crop

Crop Name

Expected Yields

Low Rainfall

t/ha

Medium Rainfall

t/ha

High Rainfall

t/ha

Straw Ratio

You can edit yields for the rainfall zones you configured in Steps 2-3. Straw ratio determines baling calculations (straw = grain yield × ratio).

Inputs Configuration

Management Events