ECONOMICS
Evaluating the Costs of
Precision-Leveling Rice Fields
K.B. Watkins, J.L. Hill, and M.M. Anders
ABSTRACT
Precision-leveled rice fields require significantly less applied water than contourlevee fields. However, precision leveling is a land improvement and involves a capital
cost to be paid upfront. The landowner must determine whether the work should be
custom-hired or performed using owned dirt-moving equipment and on-farm labor.
This study evaluates the costs of precision leveling using either custom-hire or owned
equipment at varying volumes of soil moved per acre. The results demonstrate how
the amount of soil moved per acre might impact the choice of leveling option used.
Custom charges for precision leveling in Arkansas range from $1.15 to $1.25/yard3.
Single-pan owned equipment is more attractive than custom hire at volumes of soil
moved exceeding 142 yard3/acre. At these volumes, the cost per cubic yard for singlepan equipment is less than that for custom hire assuming the lower custom charge of
$1.15/yard3. Dual-pan equipment is more cost efficient than single-pan equipment at
volumes of soil moved exceeding 215 yard3/acre.
INTRODUCTION
Most rice acres in Arkansas are flood irrigated using contour-levee systems.
Contour-levee systems are extremely water intensive and can apply as much as 39
acre-inches of total water to maintain a flood during an average growing season (Epting,
2004). Precision-leveled rice fields require significantly less applied water. Precision
leveling removes depressions in the field that hinder water movement and results in
a reduction in the minimum depth of water required to cover the entire field (Salassi,
2001, 2003). Water savings associated with precision leveling can range from 12% for
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straight levee fields without multiple-inlet irrigation tubing to 60% for fields graded to
a zero slope (Epting, 2004).
Precision leveling is a land improvement and requires a capital cost to be paid
upfront. The landowner must determine whether the work should be hired on a custom
basis or performed using owned dirt-moving equipment and on-farm labor. Custom
hire may be more appropriate if only a few acres need to be leveled or the volume of
soil moved per acre is small. However, owned equipment and on-farm labor may be
more economical if a large number of acres will be precision-leveled or if the volume
of soil moved per acre is large. The objective of this study was to compare the costs of
precision leveling using custom hire to costs of precision leveling using owned equipment at varying volumes of soil moved per acre.
PROCEDURES
Custom precision-leveling charges were obtained by contacting professional
dirt-moving businesses in eastern Arkansas by phone. Purchase prices and cost data for
owned equipment were obtained based on phone conversations with equipment dealers and farmers with owned dirt-moving equipment. All phone conversations occurred
during the summer of 2006. Cost estimates for owned equipment were calculated for
single-pan and dual-pan equipment and included fuel, labor, repair and maintenance,
depreciation, and interest charges. Owned-equipment costs were calculated for varying
volumes of soil moved per acre assuming 200 acres of land are precision-leveled per
year. Owned-equipment costs were converted to a cubic-yard basis for direct comparison with custom-hire charges obtained for eastern Arkansas. Precision-leveling costs
were also calculated on a per-acre basis to compare the cost-per-acre of moving specific
volumes of soil using either custom-hire or owned equipment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The unit of payment for custom hire can vary by hour or by cubic yard depending
on the amount of soil moved per acre. If the per-acre amount of soil moved is small (100
cubic yards or less), the custom work is usually charged on an hourly basis and ranges
from $125 to $150/hour. If large amounts of soil are moved per acre (greater than 100
cubic yards), the custom work is usually charged by cubic yard and ranges from $1.15
to $1.25/yard3. Other circumstances such as total volume of soil moved and distance soil
is moved will influence the payment method selected by the land-leveling business.
The charge per cubic yard of precision leveling may be reduced if owned equipment and on-farm labor are used in place of custom hire. Table 1 presents a description
of the equipment needed for on-farm precision leveling and the cost per hour and per
cubic yard associated with each piece of equipment assuming 300 cubic yards of soil
per acre are moved on 200 acres of land per year. Fuel costs were calculated using a
farm diesel price of $2.20/gal, and labor costs were calculated assuming a labor wage
of $10/hour. For this particular example, the total cost per unit of soil moved using
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owned equipment and on-farm labor ranges from $0.83/yard3 if two dirt pans are used
to $0.90/yard3 if one dirt pan is used. Both cost estimates are lower than the custom
charges of $1.15 to $1.25/yard3 reported above.
Estimated costs of precision leveling using on-farm equipment are presented for
selected volumes of soil moved in Table 2. These data demonstrate how the amount of
soil moved might impact the choice of leveling option used (custom hire versus owned
equipment). Custom hire is more attractive than single-pan equipment when the volume
of soil moved is less than 142 yard3/acre and is more attractive than dual-pan equipment when the volume of soil moved is less than 165 yard3/acre. At these volumes, the
cost per cubic yard of soil moved for custom hire is lower than single-pan or dual-pan
equipment assuming a custom charge of $1.15/yard3. The choice of single- or dual-pan
setup also is impacted by the amount of soil moved. The single-pan setup produces the
lowest cost per volume of soil moved at volumes less than 215 yard3/acre. Beyond 215
yard3/acre, the dual-pan setup results in the lowest cost per cubic yard of soil moved.
Table 3 presents the estimated per-acre costs of precision leveling for selected
volumes of soil moved using either owned equipment or custom hire. The charges
reported in Table 3 include a $10/acre charge for obtaining a cut sheet of the field prior
to land leveling. A cut sheet provides a topographic layout of the “cut” and “fill” areas
of the field and provides an estimate of the total cubic yards of soil to be moved to
achieve the desired grade. A charge of $46.45/acre is also included to account for the
cost of applying one ton of loose raw broiler litter as a soil amendment (Young et al.,
2006). Excluded from the total-cost figures reported in Table 3 are charges for ripping
(subsoiling). Ripping might be necessary for some fields if soil compaction or hardness
prevents efficient scraper operations. Such conditions might prevail if land leveling is
conducted during a dry period prior to a rain. An additional charge of $12/acre would
be added to the total cost figures in Table 3 to account for ripping.
The per-acre cost of precision leveling increases as the number of cubic yards of
soil moved per acre increases. Custom hire is less costly than single-pan equipment at
volumes less than 142 yard3/acre and is less costly than dual-pan equipent at volumes
less than 165 yard3/acre. Greater efficiencies may also be achieved for large volumes
of soil moved per acre using two dirt pans as opposed to one. The cost per acre for
dual-pan equipment is less than that for single-pan equipment at volumes of soil moved
exceeding 215 yard3/acre.
SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS
This study demonstrates how the amount of soil moved per acre can impact the
decision to use either custom hire or owned equipment and on-farm labor for precision-leveling a field. Custom hire is more economically attractive at volumes of soil
moved less than 142 yard3/acre, assuming a custom charge of $1.15/yard3. Single-pan
equipment is more efficient than either custom hire or dual-pan equipment at volumes
of soil moved between 142 and 215 yard3/acre. Dual-pan equipment is more cost-efficient than single-pan equipment at volumes of soil moved exceeding 215 yard3/acre.
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The results of this study should help landowners make better-informed decisions about
precision leveling for their particular farm operations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was funded by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion
Board.
LITERATURE CITED
Epting, J. 2004. Water use in the Mississippi Delta – 2004 report. In: YMD Joint
Water Management District Annual Report 2004, pp. 2-20. http://www.ymd.
org/annualreports.htm
Salassi, M.E. 2001. Estimated costs of precision land grading with on-farm labor. J.
ASFMRA. 29:26-31.
Salassi, M.E. 2003. Precision land forming. Rice Journal. (May 2003):14-15.
Young, K.B., R.I. Carreira, H.L. Goodwin, Jr., and E.J. Wailes. 2006. Economics of
utilizing poultry litter from northwest Arkansas for eastern Arkansas crops. In:
R.J. Norman, J.-F. Meullenet, and K.A.K. Moldenhouer (eds.). B.R. Wells Rice
Research Studies 2005. University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
Research Series 540:420-424. Fayetteville, Ark.
Table 1. Description of on-farm precision leveling setup.
Purchase
Useful
Annual
Cost per
Item
price
life
use
hour
(hours)
Cost per
cubic
yardz
($)
Single pan
4wd 400 Hp tractor 183,000
10
1,000
Scraper – 18yd
60,000
15
417y
Laser equipment
25,600
10
417
Total, single scraper 268,600
97.25
22.36
9.85
129.47
0.68
0.16
0.07
0.90
Dual pans
4wd 400 Hp tractor 183,000
10
1,000
Scraper – 18yd
60,000
15
278y
Scraper – 18yd
60,000
15
278
Laser equipment
27,600
10
278
Total, dual scrapers 330,600
97.25
33.54
33.54
15.93
180.28
0.45
0.16
0.16
0.07
0.83
z Estimated
volume of soil moved per hour for single-pan setup is based on 8 cycles per hour
with an 18-yard pan (144 cubic-yards per hour with 1 pan). Estimated volume of soil moved
per hour for dual-pan setup is based on 6 cycles per hour with two 18-yard pans (216 cubicyards per hour with 2 pans).
y Number of annual hours required to move 300 yard3 soil/acre on 200 acres using either singlepan equipment or dual-pan equipment.
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Table 2. Estimated costs of precision leveling using
on-farm equipment for given volumes of soil moved.
Single pan, owned
Volume of
soil moved
Cost per hourz
(yard3/acre)
75
100
142x
165w
200
215v
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Dual pans, owned
per
Cost
cubic yardy
Cost per houry
Cost per
cubic yardy
------------------------------------------------- ($)---------------------------------------------226.12
193.90
165.31
155.83
145.58
142.21
129.47
121.41
126.58
123.36
121.06
109.33
107.99
106.92
1.570
1.347
1.148
1.082
1.011
0.988
0.899
0.843
0.810
0.787
0.771
0.759
0.750
0.742
429.34
346.32
272.65
248.20
221.79
213.10
180.28
159.52
147.07
148.76
142.83
128.39
124.93
122.16
1.988
1.603
1.262
1.149
1.027
0.987
0.835
0.739
0.681
0.642
0.615
0.594
0.578
0.566
z Costs
per hour calculated based on 200 leveled acres/year.
volume of soil moved per hour for single-pan setup is based on 8 cycles/hour with
an 18-yard pan (144 cubic-yards/hour with 1 pan). Estimated volume of soil moved per hour
for dual-pan setup is based on 6 cycles/hour with two 18-yard pans (216 yard3/hour with 2
pans).
x Volumes ≥142 yard3/acre - the cost per cubic yard for single-pan equipment is less than custom hire at a custom charge of $1.15 yard3.
w Volumes ≥165 yard3/acre - the cost per cubic yard for dual-pan equipment is less than custom
hire at a custom charge of $1.15 yard3.
v Volumes ≥215 yard3/acre - the cost per cubic yard for dual-pan equipment is less than that for
single-pan equipment.
y Estimated
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Table 3. Estimated costs of precision leveling per acre at selected
volumes of soil moved with on-farm equipment and custom hiring.
Leveling optionsz
Volume of soil moved (yard3/acre)
75
100
142y
165x
200
215w
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
z Custom-hired
Single pan, owned
174.22
191.10
219.47
235.00
258.64
268.77
326.18
393.71
461.25
528.79
596.32
663.86
731.40
798.93
Dual pans, owned
Custom hired
205.53
216.78
235.69
246.05
261.81
268.56
306.83
351.86
396.88
441.91
486.93
531.96
576.98
622.00
142.70
171.45
219.75
246.20
286.45
303.70
401.45
516.45
631.45
746.45
861.45
976.45
1,091.45
1,206.45
precision leveling charge = $1.15/yard3. Additional charges of $10/acre for
obtaining a cut sheet of the field and $46.45/acre for applying one ton of loose, raw broiler litter
as a soil amendment are included in the total costs.
y Volumes ≥142 yard3/acre - the cost per acre for single-pan equipment is less than than for
custom hire.
x Volumes ≥165 yard3/acre - the cost per acre for dual-pan equipment is less than that for custom hire.
w Volumes ≥215 yard3/acre - the cost per acre for dual-pan equipment is less than that for
single-pan equipment.
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