🏠 Farm information
Select your crop and Indiana region. All averages throughout the calculator are based on Purdue research farm data for your selection.
Your name(optional)
Email address *
You'll receive a unique code to return to your results later.
Total acres for this crop
Crop type
Alternative crops (organic, non-GMO, etc.) use the same cost structure as rotation corn/soybeans but are tracked separately from standard Indiana data.
Expected yield (bu/acre)
USDA district avg: corn 185–215 bu/ac · soybeans 54–61 bu/ac · wheat 86–94 bu/ac
Indiana region
⚗️ Fertilizer — fertilizer
Enter your total fertilizer bill per acre, or use Advanced Options to break it down by product. Values are pre-filled from your selected PAC research farm region.
Total fertilizer cost / acre (all products combined)
Enter your total annual fertilizer spend per acre including all products. PAC avg: corn ~$145–255/acre · soybeans ~$41–120/acre · wheat ~$144–170/acre
ℹ Select fertilizers you applied. Enter quantity in lbs/acre and price in $/ton — the calculator converts automatically. Note: prices are for total product volume, not the active ingredient.
Which fertilizers did you apply?
⚗️ Anhydrous ammonia (e.g. 82-0-0)
Qty applied — lbs/acre (avg ~238–287 lbs/ac)
Price per ton (avg ~$900/ton)
Total cost/acre (auto)
⚗️ Custom Blend (e.g. DAP and MAP blend)
Qty applied — lbs/acre
Price per ton ($)
Total cost/acre (auto)
⚗️ DAP (e.g. 18-46-0)
Qty applied — lbs/acre (avg ~100–125 lbs/ac)
Price per ton (avg ~$820/ton)
Total cost/acre (auto)
⚗️ Potash (e.g. 0-0-60)
Qty applied — lbs/acre (avg ~120–170 lbs/ac)
Price per ton (avg ~$820/ton)
Total cost/acre (auto)
⚗️ Starter (e.g. 10-34-0)
Qty applied — gal/acre (avg ~5–8 gal/ac)
Product weight — lbs/gal (10-34-0 ≈ 11.65)
Price per ton ($/ton)
Total/acre (auto) — gal/ac × lbs/gal ÷ 2000 × $/ton
⚗️ Sulfur (e.g. 0-0-0-90S)
Qty applied — lbs/acre (avg ~33 lbs/ac)
Price per ton (~$2,100/ton)
Total/acre (auto)
⚗️ Lime
Qty — lbs/acre (avg ~600–720 lbs)
Price per ton (~$60/ton)
Total/acre (auto)
⚗️ Urea (e.g. 46-0-0)
Qty — lbs/acre (avg ~220 lbs)
Price per ton (~$590/ton)
Total/acre (auto)
⚗️ Manure
Quantity
Unit
Price/unit ($)
Total/acre (auto)
Detailed total / acre (auto-sum)
Not sure about quantities, application rates, or pricing? Describe your situation and the Purdue Extension team will follow up.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🌱 Seed & yield
Enter your total seed cost per acre (seed treatment included). Purdue avg: $124/acre for corn (traited variety at ~30,000 seeds/acre), $74/acre for soybeans.
Total seed cost / acre include seed treatment
PAC avg: corn ~$113–187/acre · soybeans ~$58–92/acre · wheat ~$44/acre
Seeds/acre → units of seed converter
🧮 Use this calculator to convert seeds per acre and cost per bag into cost per acre.
✏️ Enter data in the highlighted fields only — the rest calculate automatically.
✏️ Seeds/acre planting rate (corn avg: 30,000–32,000; soy: 150,000–170,000)
Seeds per unit/bag (auto-filled by crop)
→ Units needed/acre (auto)
✏️ Price per bag (corn avg: ~$280–340/bag)
→ Seed cost/acre (auto)
Questions about optimal seeding rates, seed pricing, or variety comparisons? Describe your situation.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🛡️ Crop protection
Enter your total pesticide cost per acre. Purdue avg: $110–115/acre for corn herbicides; add insecticide/fungicide if used.
Total crop protection cost / acre all pesticides combined
PAC avg: corn ~$43–87/acre · soybeans ~$45–100/acre · wheat ~$25–45/acre
Herbicides ($/acre) corn avg ~$110–115; soybeans ~$70
Insecticides ($/acre)
Fungicides ($/acre)
Other pesticides ($/acre)
Detailed total / acre (auto)
Questions about pesticide programs, product selection, or application costs? Describe your situation.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
👷 Labor costs
Enter your total labor cost per acre. Remember to include benefits in your hourly rate.
Total labor cost / acre
PAC avg: ~$29/acre across all regions and crops
For employees: Include benefits (health insurance, retirement, payroll taxes) in your wage rate.
For owner/operators: Also include the opportunity cost of labor, or what you could earn working elsewhere.
For reference: The MIT living wage calculator suggests that a four-person household with 2 working adults would need to earn approximately $120,000 pre-tax to cover living expenses — about $60,000 per working adult. (livingwage.mit.edu)
For owner/operators: Also include the opportunity cost of labor, or what you could earn working elsewhere.
For reference: The MIT living wage calculator suggests that a four-person household with 2 working adults would need to earn approximately $120,000 pre-tax to cover living expenses — about $60,000 per working adult. (livingwage.mit.edu)
ℹ Include benefits (health insurance, retirement, payroll taxes) in your hourly rate. Also include the opportunity cost of owner/operator labor — what you could earn working elsewhere.
Full-time $/hr include benefits · typical $17–22/hr
Part-time / seasonal $/hr include benefits
Full-time hours/acre total FT hours ÷ total acres
Part-time hours/acre
Calculated labor cost / acre (auto)
Not sure how to allocate labor hours across crops? Describe your situation.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🚜 Equipment & machinery
Enter your total machinery cost per acre, or use Advanced Options to select individual equipment.
⚠ Machinery cost allocation is the hardest part of this calculator. If you're unsure how to split costs across crops, use the Help option below.
Total machinery ownership cost / acre fixed + variable costs combined
Enter your total machinery cost per acre for this crop. Purdue avg $97/acre pre-filled.
ℹ Add individual equipment pieces below — enter annual payment and repair costs for each piece. Or use the totals calculator at the bottom.
Total farm acres (all crops)
Equipment cost is difficult to quantify for separate enterprises, so we use total farm acres for simplicity. Enter your total acres farmed across all crops here.
Tillage & power
Planting
Spraying
Fertilizer application
Harvest
Grain handling & transport
Other equipment
Total from individual equipment (auto-calculated)
Or enter totals for all equipment combined
Annual machinery loan/lease payments ($)
Total annual payments across all equipment
Annual repair & maintenance costs ($)
Total annual repairs across all equipment
Calculated machinery cost / acre (auto)
Updates the total above automatically
Enterprise allocation
50% is the neutral starting point — it shows the base cost per acre (total annual cost ÷ total acres). Entering more than 50% increases the per-acre cost because more of your equipment is dedicated to this crop. Entering less than 50% decreases it. Each percentage point above or below 50 adjusts the cost by 1%.
% of machinery cost allocated to this crop default 50%
Enter 100 to use the full cost, or a lower % to allocate only a portion.
Allocated machinery cost / acre (auto)
Total machinery cost × allocation %
Enter your total annual loan/lease payments and annual repair costs for all equipment combined, then divide by your total farm acres. Or use the individual equipment list above to break it down by piece.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🏡 Land & property costs
Enter your land cost. Purdue 2026 avg: $238–268/acre cash rent depending on region. This is typically the single largest cost item.
Do you rent or own?
Cash rent / acre PAC avg by region
PAC avg by region: North $193 · NE $230 · WC $200 · Central $225 · SW $204 · SE $197
Owned land costs
Annual property taxes (total $)
Annual mortgage payment (total $)
Land opportunity cost / acre auto-filled from your cash rent — edit if needed
The annual return you forgo by farming rather than renting out your land. Defaults to your cash rent value as a proxy.
Owned land cost / acre (auto)
Owned vs. rented split
ℹ Enter the percentage of your total acres that you own. The calculator will blend your owned cost and cash rent cost proportionally.
% of acres owned e.g. 40 if you own 200 of 500 acres
Blended land cost / acre (auto)
Questions about cash rent benchmarks, or how to calculate an ownership equivalent rent? Let us know your situation.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🌡️ Grain drying
Enter your total grain drying cost per acre. PAC avg: corn ~$25/acre · soybeans $0 · wheat $0
Total grain drying cost / acre on-farm or commercial combined
Do you dry your grain?
Fuel quantity (gal/acre) corn avg: 17–22 gal/acre
Fuel price ($/gal) avg ~$2.70/gal LP
Drying cost/acre (auto)
On-farm storage cost ($/acre/yr) bin depreciation + aeration electricity
🚛 Grain hauling
Enter your total grain hauling cost per acre. PAC avg: corn ~$21–23/acre · soybeans ~$6–11/acre · wheat ~$9–11/acre
Total grain hauling cost / acre field to storage or elevator
Bu/acre hauled equals your expected yield
Hauling rate ($/bu) Purdue avg $0.105/bu
Hauling cost/acre (auto)
Shrink & handling ($/acre) typical $0.01–0.03/bu × yield
🛡️ Crop insurance
Crop insurance premium per acre. PAC avg: ~$15/acre
Crop insurance cost / acre
🏢 General overhead
Annual fixed costs. Enter annual totals — auto-divided by your acres.
General insurance — liability & equipment (annual $) Purdue avg ~$17/acre
Office, phone, software (annual $)
Miscellaneous maintenance (annual $)
Pest control contract (annual $)
Miscellaneous overhead ($/acre direct) PAC avg $17/acre
🏦 Operating line of credit
If you use an operating line to finance variable costs, enter your estimated annual interest payment here.
Estimated annual interest payment ($)
Enter your total expected interest payment for the year on your operating line.
Operating line interest / acre (auto)
💰 Expected sale price
Expected sale price
PAC avg futures: corn $4.06–4.95/bu · soybeans $9.86–11.65/bu · wheat ~$6.15/bu
Futures ($/bu)
Local basis ($/bu)
Cash price (auto)
🏛️ Government payments
ARC/PLC program payments count as revenue. Enter 0 if not enrolled.
ARC/PLC government payment ($/acre) wheat avg ~$35/acre
🧮 Total overhead cost
Auto-calculated from all overhead entries above. You can also enter a single total directly.
Total overhead cost / acre drying + hauling + insurance + general overhead + operating line
Questions about how to allocate overhead across crops, operating line interest, grain drying, or insurance? Describe your situation.
Your email * (required so we can reply)
🔑 Your unique survey code
------
Sent to: