Custom Rate Calculator

Per-acre rate from equipment and labor costs.

Equipment value ($)

Annual usage (hours)

Fuel cost ($/hr)

Repair & maint. ($/hr)

Labor cost ($/hr)

Field capacity (ac/hr)

Profit margin (%)

Overhead (%)

Tab to move between fields

Custom rate ($/acre)

$12.73

≈ 3 cups of coffee

Charge per hour ($/hr)$190.91

Ownership cost ($/hr)$85.63

Total cost ($/hr)$144.63

Breakeven acres/year4,545

Projected annual revenue ($)$76,362.00

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Equipment Value — combined market value of tractor and implement used for the custom operation.
Set Annual Usage (hours), Fuel Cost ($/hr), Repair & Maintenance ($/hr), and Labor Cost ($/hr).
Enter Field Capacity (ac/hr) — use the Field Capacity Calculator if unsure.
Set your desired Profit Margin (%) and Overhead (%) for admin, insurance, and general costs.
Read Custom Rate ($/acre) and Charge Per Hour — compare against USDA custom rate surveys for your region.

How the result changes with Field capacity (ac/hr)

Equipment value ($): Current market value of tractor + implement used for the custom operation.
Annual usage (hours): Total hours the equipment is used annually for custom work.
Fuel cost ($/hr): Diesel fuel cost per operating hour.
Repair & maint. ($/hr): Average repair and maintenance cost per operating hour.
Labor cost ($/hr): Operator labor cost including wages, taxes, and benefits.
Field capacity (ac/hr): Effective field capacity in acres per hour for this operation.
Profit margin (%): Desired profit margin above total costs.
Overhead (%): Administrative, insurance, and general overhead percentage.

Custom rate ($/acre): Recommended charge per acre including all costs and profit.
Charge per hour ($/hr): Hourly rate including ownership, operating, labor, overhead, and profit.
Ownership cost ($/hr): Depreciation, interest, insurance, and housing per operating hour.
Total cost ($/hr): Total hourly cost before overhead and profit markup.
Breakeven acres/year: Minimum acres needed at this rate to cover annual ownership and operating costs.
Projected annual revenue ($): Revenue at this rate for the planned annual hours.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Equipment value ($) = 250000, Annual usage (hours) = 400, Fuel cost ($/hr) = 25, Repair & maint. ($/hr) = 12 = 8 input(s) provided
Calculate Custom rate
Custom rate = chargePerHour / fieldCapacityAcHr
12.73 = $12.73
Calculate Charge per hour
Charge per hour = withOverhead * (1 + profitMarginPct / 100)
190.91 = $190.91
Calculate Ownership cost
Ownership cost = totalAnnualOwnership / annualHours
85.63 = $85.63