Soil Sampling Methodology and Economics

Soil sampling for soil fertility has been extensive conducted for many years in precision farming operations to develop soil management zones.  But measuring the soil fertility levels does not address the level of soil quality or the yield potential across a farming landscape.  Recently, there has been tremendous interest in developing soil maps for farmers fields that .......Read more in the PDF document.

PDF - Soil Sampling Methodology and Economics

Excel - Carbon Sampling Cost Worksheet.xlsx

Economic Analysis and Profit Potential of a Mobile Air Curtain Biochar Processor

Agricultural and forestry waste is typically disposed of using open burn piles. However, this method usually creates a lot of ash and destroys most of the available carbon.  Burning waste in low oxygen environment, called pyrolysis, creates biochar material which leaves most of the carbon in the biochar residue, resulting in a biproduct that has economic value.  .......Read more in the PDF document.

PDF Economic Analysis and Profit Potential of a Mobile Air Curtain Biochar Processor

Excel - CharBoss Costs  Operating Assumptions.xlsx

Tractor Power Requirement Recommendation 

This worksheet helps producers quickly identify the tractor horsepower needed to operate a wide range of towed implements and evaluates whether current equipment meets those requirements. It also provides per‑acre operating cost estimates to support budgeting and equipment planning. All recommendations and cost data are sourced from the Mississippi State University 2026 Crop Planning Budgets and are provided for educational use only.     .......Read more in the PDF document.

PDF - Tractor Power Requirement Recommendation

Excel - Tractor Power Requirement Recommendation

Cover Crop Management Cost Estimator

Cover crops are a key part of a conservation system that are typically combined with conservation tillage to enhance soil productivity. In the Southeast United States, the hot-humid climate, aggravated by previous conventional tillage operations, does not allow beneficial surface residues to persist for long periods, which contributes to degraded soil conditions across the region. However, cover crops help offset these degraded soil conditions by providing extra .......Read more in the PDF document.

PDF - Cover Crop Management Cost Estimator

Excel - Cover Crop Management Costs

Estimating Farm Machinery Costs 1.0: Producer Specific Inputs

This workbook is a machinery cost estimation calculator for agricultural equipment, based on ASABE standards. It is designed to help producers calculate:

• Ownership (fixed) costs
• Operating (variable) costs
• Total hourly and per-acre machinery costs

It supports:

• Tractor + implement combinations
• Self‑propelled machines
• Custom field capacity calculations
• Salvage value, repair factors, capital recovery, and other economic parameters

 Everything is driven by manual inputs in light-blue cells and drop-down selections in yellow cells.     .......Read more in the PDF document.

PDF - Estimating Farm Machinery Costs (Producer Specific Input)

Excel - Estimating Farm Machinery Costs (Producer Specific Input)

Estimating Farm Machinery Costs 2.0: General Machinery Specs

Estimating Farm Machinery Costs 2.0 (General Machinery Specs) is a tool that helps farmers quickly estimate how much it costs to run different farm machines—both per hour and per acre.

You pick a machine or implement from a list, and the sheet automatically fills in the normal specs and cost information for that equipment. Then the sheet uses built‑in formulas to calculate:

• How much does the machine cost to own
• How much does it cost to operate
• Total cost per hour
• Total cost per acre

It uses standard data from ASABE and the Mississippi State University 2026 Crop Planning Budgets to make calculations consistent and reliable.     .......Read more in the PDF document.

 PDF - Estimating Farm Machinery Costs (General Machinery Specs)

Excel - Estimating Farm Machinery Costs (General Machinery Specs)