Decision Time: Self-propelled Sprayer Ownership vs. Custom Applicators

Mon March 08, 2021
Case IH

Using simple calculations, Case IH shares how to determine if sprayer ownership is the right move

How do you know if your operation is in the sweet spot for owning a sprayer? Depending on a number of variables, sprayer ownership can be a net positive investment with as few as three applications per year.1 Case IH application experts can help guide your decision whether to purchase a sprayer by breaking down the following:

• How to determine if this investment is right for your operation
• How to calculate the cost difference between hiring custom applicators and spraying your own
• The agronomic benefits of owning a self-propelled sprayer

1. Determine acres farmed vs. acres sprayed.

When considering self-propelled sprayer ownership, it's important to determine not how many acres you farm but, rather, how many acres you spray. Because of the number of applications needed across your crops throughout the growing season, the number of acres sprayed is likely much greater than you actually farm on your operation.

To determine if purchasing self-propelled spray equipment pencils out for your farming operation, calculate the number of acres you spray each year. Consider the first scenario below. If a producer farms 3,000 acres of corn and 2,000 acres of soybeans, with two applications for corn and three applications for soybeans, the total acres sprayed amounts to 12,000 acres — a number much greater than the 5,000 total acres farmed.

2. Calculate the cost difference.

Once you determine the number of acres sprayed on your operation, it's time to calculate the cost difference. If, for example, a producer pays $6.50 per acre of application sprayed across 12,000 total, that's a total cost of $78,000 for custom application in one growing season.* These costs could instead be put toward an equipment payment.

On the other hand, when considering the annual payment on a sprayer purchase of $350,000 — with 15% down and 0% financing for the first 24 months — the annual payment on a sprayer would come to approximately $62,300.* With a lower annual payment, owning a sprayer would help you save on expenses — and the more acres you spray, the better return on your investment.

Case IH offers a simple spreadsheet to help you run the numbers for your operation. Download your own at caseih.com/ownasprayer.

3. Understand ownership benefits.

The ability to get crop nutrients and protectants applied at the right agronomic moment is critical to maximizing yields, and it can reduce the stress of waiting for the application to be made. Most often, producers are facing long days and short application windows. That's why it's important to consider a self-propelled sprayer that's agronomically designed and easy to operate.

With the broadest lineup of application equipment in the company's history available today, along with leading technology and support, Case IH has a self-propelled sprayer solution that can maximize application efficiency and productivity on any operation.

To learn more about the variables that go into owning a self-propelled sprayer, or to download the Case IH spreadsheet to run the numbers for your operation, visit caseih.com/ownasprayer.

Read more about Case IH application equipment at the Case IH blog.

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