What are the costs of growing rapeseed? It's better, but far from perfect

Jakie są koszty uprawy rzepaku? Jest lepiej, ale do ideału daleko

We look at the costs of growing rapeseed.
Is it better than last year?
The profitability of production – obviously – depends primarily on the yield results, but the break-even point is determined by the sum of costs.

Rapeseed cultivation technology must be adapted to the expectations and capabilities of the soil

In a hypothetical calculation, we assume three production variants:

economic,
standard,
intense.

In the most basic model, we assume a yield of 3.2 t/ha, in standard technology 4 t/ha, and in intensive technology 4.8 t/ha. Why this way? Yield results depend primarily on the availability of water – in the pyramid of factors shaping the yield, water will always be the foundation. However, agrotechnics – i.e. protection, variety selection, fertilization – must be adapted to the expected yield. It is impossible to run a plantation as economically as possible and obtain high yields at the same time. But such intensive agrotechnics does not necessarily have to be a necessity – after all, we cannot overcome certain things. Soil, after water, is another factor determining crop yield. We will not harvest 5 tons of rapeseed in class 5, so the agrotechnics that are expected to achieve such high results do not make sense. Lower expenditures are associated with a lower break-even point, but also lower revenues. It is important that protection, fertilization and varieties are adapted to the expectations and production capabilities of the soil.

Cost of growing winter rapeseed. Developed by Karol Bogacz.png

How much does rapeseed protection cost?

Rapeseed protection is quite expensive due to the number of treatments. Let's assume three variants here, as we mentioned earlier. In economic protection, we assume one regulatory and fungicide treatment in autumn, standard herbicide protection and two spring treatments – regulation combined with fungicide protection and protection around flowering. In both cases, we are talking about using quite economical combinations. Another thing is that in many plantations one autumn treatment may not be enough. In addition, we plan to perform three insecticide treatments. In standard and intensive technologies, two spring treatments with the implementation of fungicides and regulators are a must this season. In spring, we receive not only the first spring treatment, but also an application to the green pod and, of course, a treatment to the petal. We also assume a minimum of 4 insecticide treatments, although usually there were even 5-6.

Note that in the case of protection issues, the intensive technology in our example is almost 100 percent more expensive. However, it is aimed at a much higher yield. In the examples, protection represents 18, 21 and 24 percent of the total cost, respectively.

In the case of seeds, the lower cost in economic technology is related to the adoption of a population variety in this assumption. However, we know perfectly well that hybrid varieties are also sown with the planned economical variant. Even more – it is often recommended to sow linear trees in stronger positions, and if we plan to do "something" with greater savings, sow hybrids in such a position, which are assumed to be more tolerant of some shortcomings and forgiving of some errors or omissions. However, in the economic variant, we assume the expenditure per hectare for seeds is PLN 300, and in the other two examples – PLN 450/ha. In the economic variant, the expenditure on seeds is 15%. the price of a ton of rapeseed, and in standard and economic technology 22.5 percent. The expenditure on seeds is in each case lower than 10%. overall cultivation costs.

How much does rapeseed seed cost? How many units to order?

Fertilizers cost even more than PLN 2,000 per hectare

In the case of nitrogen fertilization, we assume that the first dose was given in the form of nitrate 26, and the second with the implementation of 34% nitrate. The price assumed for saltpetre is PLN 2,000/ton, and for saletrosan – PLN 1,900. In the economic technology, we assume the first dose at the level of 65 kg N, in the standard technology – 78 kg N, and in the intensive technology – 91 kg N. In the second dose, we assume 68 kg N, 85 kg N and 102 kg N, respectively. The cost of nitrogen fertilization will vary quite significantly. wide ranges – from PLN 875/ to PLN 1,265/ha. Nitrogen in rapeseed amounts to 43 to 63 percent. prices per ton of seeds purchased. As for pre-sowing fertilization, we assume NPK 6 – 20 – 30 fertilizer in the calculations in amounts of 200, 250, 300 kg/ha, respectively, and the assumed price is PLN 3,000/t of the multi-component (valuation from August last year). In the case of intensive technology, the value of purchased fertilizers is higher than the purchase price per tonne.

The share of fertilizers (nitrogen and NPK) is in each case approximately 35 – 37 percent of the total expenditure.

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Fuel and rapeseed harvesting

The harvesting costs will be the same for each option listed here. Our price is PLN 500/ha. These are the valuations that also appear in the offers of service providers. Perhaps someone will say that having our own combine harvester incurs lower costs. But on the other hand, operating a combine harvester is not cheap, so we also have to include depreciation of harvesting equipment in our costs.

In the case of fuel, calculated separately from harvesting, we assume the amount of PLN 600/ha in the economic variant and PLN 750 in the case of other agrotechnical technologies.

Fertilizers are the biggest costs, but it is better than last year

It's no surprise that fertilizers are the highest cost. In second place is protection, but let's also note that high costs also apply to fuel and the harvest itself. We spend relatively little on seeds. The difference between population and hybrid varieties is also not huge. Nevertheless, the price of seeds is much higher than a few years ago, but their share in total expenditure is much lower than in the case of fertilizers or plant protection. On the other hand, it must be admitted that the price correlation is currently better than last year. It is true that at the beginning of the previous harvest, rapeseed prices were similar to the current ones, but later they dropped to PLN 1,700/t (and sometimes even lower). This year, the fertilizers themselves are also cheaper than in the previous season (we remember the prices from autumn 2022, when many farms stocked up on, among others, nitrogen for spring 2023).

Rapeseed cultivation and costs. Greater stabilization, but far from perfect

Such calculations are only indicative, because the cost of cultivation depends on many individual factors for a given farm or even location. However, even a certain generalization shows where we are. Of course, on our farms, we also need to add possible loan installments or costs of leases and equipment depreciation, but these are factors that are even more individual than the outlays mentioned here. However, they will reduce your potential net income. On the other hand, we do not include direct subsidies here, because in its current form the subsidy rate depends on too many factors.

Assuming that to obtain the highest yields, intensive technology must be chosen, then with a yield of 4.5 t/ha, the direct surplus is approximately PLN 3,000/ha (at current prices). However, the outlays may be higher if we include, for example, loans for the purchase of land or the cost of lease. With inputs as in the table, the costs are compensated with a yield of approximately 3 t/ha. The lowest possible investment returns are 2 t/ha, although the yield potential is also lower here.

So is it good? Yes and no. Because it is better than last year, but on the other hand much worse than two years ago. But if you look at the valuation of cereals, it seems that rapeseed will provide better profitability. However, this will be determined by the yield and the final price.