The Ontario Corn Producers’ Association gets numerous requests on the cost of growing corn. The following table provides an estimate of average 1997 costs for a commercial, state-of-the-art grain grower, producing an average corn yield, in Ontario. The estimates are based, in part, on information provided by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and by Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology.
The estimates assume that harvested corn is dried before sale or storage. Drying is not necessary for grain corn stored as grain corn silage (“high moisture corn”) or whole-plant silage. Per-acre harvesting costs are higher for corn harvested and stored as whole-plant silage (forage corn). Values are in Canadian dollars. An average grain corn yield of 115 bushels (bu) per acre is assumed (about the 1997 trend-line average yield for Ontario). As corn yields increase, per-acre costs for fertilizer materials, drying and trucking increase. Other costs generally remain constant; however, the price of land, estimated as the average rental price of land suitable for corn production, is generally higher in areas of the province where yields are above the provincial average, and vice versa.
More-profitable corn growers will tend to have lower per-acre/per-bushel costs of production - especially in the areas of tillage, nitrogen fertility, fertilizer/application costs, and drying costs. More-profitable producers tend to have above-average yields using average amounts of crop inputs. The cost paid for land usage has a huge effect on profitability. Marketing skills, which are not considered here, also have a major effect on profitability: for example, with the cost estimates shown below, a producer selling corn at $3.48/bu will have twice the net profit of one selling at $3.38/bu.
Net profitability depends on productivity (per-acre yields), per-acre and per-bushel cost of production, and average market price. (See Ontario weekly average prices.)
There are 39.368 bushels in a metric tonne. An acre is 0.405 hectares. Please note the footnote information. Comments are welcomed on the estimates shown.
U.S. data are available at U.S. cost of corn production.
1 Custom (contract) rates are shown, even though most commercial-scale farmers will tend to perform these operations themselves using their own equipment and facilities. Custom rate charges are usually very similar to the costs of maintaining and operating producer-owned equipment. Per-acre tillage costs can vary widely. The cost of drying corn increases as the percent moisture increases; the $0.30/bushel rate shown is average for corn harvested at about 25% moisture. 2 Assume $120 (net after discounts) per 80,000 kernel bag. See Ontario Corn Committee for list of tested hybrids. 3 Nitrogen. Assume 125 lb (112 kg) per acre of N, applied as urea. Urea is 46% nitrogen, and costs about $360/tonne. For more information on fertilizer requirements, see Publication 296, Field Crop Recommendations, OMAFRA 4 Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), 13-52-0 (13% N, 52% phosphate, 0% potash), applied at 60 pounds (27 kg) per acre. MAP costs about $400/tonne. 5 Muriate of potash (potassium chloride), 0-0-60, applied at 100 pounds (45 kg) per acre. Cost is about $210 per tonne. 6 A typical herbicide combination for corn costs about $25/acre. See Publication 75, Guide to Weed Control, OMAFRA. 7 If corn is grown on the same field for more than one year in succession, insecticide application may be needed to control corn rootworms. Although a common practice several years ago, this now occurs relatively infrequently. The cost for rootworm insecticides is about $15 to 20 per acre. 8 The calculations shown include costs accrued prior to, and during, the harvest season. If corn is stored until sale after harvest, extra costs are incurred for storage and interest. These costs are equivalent to about $1.50/tonne per month of storage (interest costs not included). 9 Land rental costs can vary greatly.
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