Farm Calculator

This application is provided for general information and scenario analysis only. It does not constitute financial, legal, agronomic or other professional advice.

The calculations and outputs are based on user-supplied data and simplifying assumptions and may not reflect actual on-farm performance or your specific circumstances. You should obtain independent professional advice, including financial and agronomic advice, before making any business decisions.

This tool does not ask for personal information. The farm details you enter are held temporarily in your session so the calculator can work. They are not used for any other purpose, and they are deleted automatically 24 hours after your last activity, or straight away when you select Reset All. Saved configurations and Excel reports are downloaded to your own device and are not kept by this tool.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information or outputs generated by this tool and accept no liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense suffered by any person as a result of using or relying on this application or its outputs. Use of this tool and interpretation of its results is entirely at the user's discretion and risk.

When changes apply: Used every time the results are worked out: a change applies to every machine, unless a machine has its own annual maintenance cost.

⚙️ 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	Example Hours/Year*	Actions
Loading maintenance rates...

*Only used for the example maintenance figures in the equipment Configure window (Operating Costs tab). It doesn't change the results: the hours in the results come from the jobs each machine does.

⛽ 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.

When changes apply: Used every time the results are worked out, except tender labour times (copied onto new tenders) and contractor rates (copied onto jobs; jobs not edited by hand take the new rates when you save).

🛢️ Consumables

Fuel and lubrication costs for equipment operation.

Diesel ($/litre)

Cost per litre of diesel fuel

Lubrication (share of fuel cost, e.g. 0.15 = 15%)

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). Not used in the results yet (crop prices aren't in the model).

👤 Labour Costs

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

Labour Type	Rate	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

Tender & Refill Configuration

Configure default settings for tender/refill systems. These defaults are used when creating new tender equipment and in efficiency calculations.

Setting	Value	Description
Default Spray Rate	L/ha	Used for refill calculations and as default for task-specific rates
Refill Manoeuvring Time	mins	Time to position, connect and disconnect at the tender each refill. Added to the calculated pumping time; a sprayer's own time at the tender replaces both
Refilling Share Without a Tender	%	Share of a sprayer's field time spent refilling itself, which the field efficiencies (Operations) already allow for. For a sprayer with a tender this time is taken out and replaced by its actual refill trips
Tender Setup Time	mins	Default operator time to set up the tender at the start of a task (covers the first day)
Tender Daily Servicing	mins	Default operator time to maintain and replenish the tender each further day of a task
Tender Pack-up Time	mins	Default operator time to pack up the tender at the end of a task. Each pass is a separate outing
Task-Specific Spray Rates (Optional) Enable specific rates for different spray operations. Used in task calculations.
Spraying Pre-emergent Herbicides	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Pre-emergent Herbicides" task
Spraying Post-emergent Herbicides	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Post-emergent Herbicides" task
Spraying Fungicides	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Fungicides" task
Spraying Insecticides	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Insecticides" task
Spraying Desiccation	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Desiccation" task (pre-harvest)
Spraying Summer Fallow	L/ha	Matches "Spraying Summer Fallow" task

👷 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.

When changes apply: Starting values for machines you configure from now on. Machines already configured keep their own finance and depreciation: change those on the Equipment page.

🏦 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...

When changes apply: Used every time the results are worked out. Speeds and efficiencies apply to machines that don't have their own.

🕒 Working Hours

The hours of the day each operation can run, for crewed and autonomous machines. When machines work a task together, each does a share based on its work rate and its hours per day, so an autonomous machine running around the clock covers more than a crewed one. Contractors use the crewed hours. A finish earlier than the start runs overnight; the same start and finish means all day (24 hours).

Loading working hours...

🌧️ 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...

⚡ 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...

When changes apply: Used every time the results are worked out, except spot spray systems edited on a sprayer, which keep their own values.

👨‍🏭 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 charged per hectare spot sprayed, on each job where the sprayer spot sprays.

🤖 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.

When changes apply: Used every time the results are worked out: crop inputs, yields and Master Input costs apply to every crop that uses them.

🌾 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

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

⚗️ Master Input Library

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

Filter by Category

Search

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

🌾 Hay Yields

Hay yield (t/ha of hay) when a crop is cut for hay instead of harvested for grain. Silage tonnes are calculated from these using the dry matter values below.

Crop	Low Rainfall (t/ha)	Medium Rainfall (t/ha)	High Rainfall (t/ha)	Actions
Loading hay yields...

💧 Dry Matter

Silage is baled wetter than hay, so the same dry matter weighs more: silage t/ha = hay t/ha × hay DM ÷ silage DM.

Hay dry matter (%)

Silage dry matter (%)

📦 Bale Sizes & Weights

Bale weights by product, used to turn tonnes into bale counts. Bale dimensions are reference data and cannot be edited. Small square bales are not wrapped for silage.

Type	Display Name	Category	Metric	Straw (kg)	Hay (kg)	Silage (kg)
Loading bale sizes...

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
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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).

Crop Inputs

Confirm Action

Update Contractor Rates

Information

Build Custom Rotation