2020 Dried Onion Budget

Onion
DOES NOT include costs associated with sorting, packing and bagging onions.
Price per
Quantity Unit Unit Cost per Ha Your Farm
REVENUE SOURCES

Onions1 35000 50 lb bags $ 0 $ 3,500

TOTAL REVENUE $ 3,500

EXPENSES
Soil sampling2 $ -
Spring ground preparation
Tillage3 $ 41
Barley seed4 $ -
Herbicide & Application5 $ 18
Seed 1 50 000 seeds $ 350.00 $ 350
Planting $ 25
Fertilizer
Calcium Nitrate 100 kg $ 0.36 $ 36
Ammonium Nitrate 50 lb $ 0.30 $ 15
K2O lb $ 0.13 $ -
Micronutrients6 $ 45
Limestone 0.0 ton $ 20 $ -
Applications 0 apps $ 6 $ -
Scouting $ 10
Herbicide Materials7 $ 114
Insecticide & Nematicide Materials8 $ 70
Fungicide Materials9 $ 104
Spray applications 15 apps $ 7 $ 105
Hand weeding 5 hours $ 10.00 $ 50
Cultivation $ 8
Irrigation10 $ -
Sprout inhibitor and application11 $ 5
Harvest
Undercutting $ 9
Machinery12 $ 219
Labor, skilled13 2 hr $ 15.00 $ 30
Labor, unskilled14 3 hr $ 10.00 $ 30
Boxes15 $ 5,113
Storage16 17500 bags $ 0.19 $ 3,281
Research check-off 35000 bags $ 0.03 $ 1,050
Land rent $ 200
Insurance $ 7
Interest17 7% $ 188
Tool shed & repair overhead 18
$ -
Marketing, management & supervision19 $ 225
TOTAL EXPENSES $ 11,348
2020 Dried Onion Budget

1 This yield is after storage shrink. Onions are sold in 50 lb bags.

2 Assumes one soil test every 2-3 years.

3 Includes spreading potash, moldboard plowing, broadcasting barley seed, dragging in seed and cultipacking for 4
total trips over the field.
4 Barley is planted with carrots to protect seedlings from wind damage.
5 One application of Fusilade and a non-ionic surfactant to burn down the cover crop.

6 Includes primarily magnesium and manganese and may include zinc, copper and boron applied in conjunction with
fungicides.

7 Includes 2 applications of Dual Magnum, 3 of Prowl, 1 of Buctril and 2 applications of Fusilade and a non-ionic
surfactant.
8 Includes 1 application of Lorsban and 4 of Warrior.
9 Includes 3 applications of Rovral and 5 of Dithane.
10 Various types of irrigation are used on a small percentage of Michigan onion acres.
11 Includes a sprout inhibitor used on 1/3 of total acreage and application costs.

12 Assumes 2 $4,000 harvesters that harvest 120 acres a season, one machine hour each for 3 85hp tractors (2 for
harvestors and 1 for pulling wagons), 2 wagons to transport bulbs to shed and 2 hi-los for loading and packing out.

13 Assumes 2 skilled laborers can cover one acre per hour during harvest.
14 Labor needed to sort out dirt and move from storage to pack out.
15 Assumes 28 20-bushel boxes per acre at $30 each with boxes lasting 20 years.
16 Assumes $0.063 storage cost per bushel for 3 months for half of marketed crop.

17 Operating capital assumed to be half of the variable costs (excluding custom charges) for half of the year.
18 These costs are included in custom rates.
19 Includes cost of marketing, management and supervision time and a vehicle for the manager.
2020 Dried Onion Budget

Expected dried onion net income (loss) per acre at selected price and yield
combinations. Expenses covered DO NOT include sorting, packing or bagging onions.

Yield, 10kgs bags

Price 400 500 600
$ 2.50 $(6,067) $(5,829) $(5,591)
$ 3.00 $(5,867) $(5,579) $(5,291)
$ 3.50 $(5,667) $(5,329) $(4,991)
$ 4.00 $(5,467) $(5,079) $(4,691)
price and yield
acking or bagging onions.

d, 10kgs bags
700 800
$(5,354) $(5,116)
$(5,004) $(4,716)
$(4,654) $(4,316)
$(4,304) $(3,916)
2002 Fresh Market Onion Budget
Michigan State University Department of Agricultural Economics Staff Paper

Fertilizer Unit Price

N - urea lb N $ 0.25
N - NH3 lb N $ 0.20
P - MAP lb P2O5 $ 0.18
K - Potash lb K20 $ 0.13
Lime ton $ 20
Boron-14.3% lb $ 0.35
Sulfur lb $ 0.17
Calcium Nitrate (15-0-0-19) ton $ 305
20-20-20 (Nutraleaf/Tracit) lb $ 0.54

Capital Investment Capital Investment

Onion Harvesters $ 8,000 Onion Digger $ 8,000
Years of life 10 Years of life 12
Interest Rate 9% Interest Rate 9%
Salvage Value $ - Salvage Value $ -
Annual Payment ($1,124) Annual Payment ($1,004)
Acres per Onion Harvesters 120 Acres per Onion Digger 120
Annual Cost per Acre $ 9 Annual Cost per Acre $ 8
Operating cost per Year $ 10 Harvester Operating Cost 15
Tractors (3 mach hr for 50-100 hp) $ 75

Capital Investment Capital Investment

Onion Wagons $ 7,000 HiLos $ 40,000
Years of life 15 Years of life 15
Interest Rate 9% Interest Rate 9%
Salvage Value $ - Salvage Value $ -
Annual Payment ($777) Annual Payment ($4,439)
Acres per Onion Wagons 60 Acres per HiLos 60
Annual Cost per Acre $ 13 Annual Cost per Acre $ 74
Operating Cost 4 Operating Cost $ 10

Capital Investment
Boxes $ 52,500
Years of life 20
Interest Rate 9%
Salvage Value $ -
Annual Payment ($5,113)
Acres per Boxes 1
Annual Cost per Acre $ 5,113
2002 Fresh Market Onion Budget
Michigan State University Department of Agricultural Economics Staff Paper
Cost per
App Rate App Number Cost per Chemical
Chemical Chemical Type per Acre Unit of Apps Cost/Unit Unit Chemical Type
Fusilade Burn down 12 oz 1 $112.00 gal $ 10.50
R-11 (Non-ionic surfactant) Burn down 1 pt 1 $ 15.95 gal $ 1.99 $ 12.49
Dual Magnum 7.6E H 1 pt 2 $ 99.00 gal $ 24.75
Prowl 3.3EC H 2.4 qt 3 $ 20.40 gal $ 36.72
Buctril 2E H 0.5 pt 1 $ 56.25 ga; $ 3.52
Fusilade H 12 oz 2 $112.00 gal $ 21.00
R-11 (Non-ionic surfactant) H 1 pt 2 $ 15.95 gal $ 3.99
Goal H 0.67 pt 3 $ 96.00 gal $ 24.00 $ 113.97
Lorsban I 127.65 oz 1 $37.00 gal $36.90
Warrior I 3.2 oz 4 $330.00 gal $ 33.00 $69.90
Rovral F 1 lb 3 $ 21.00 lb $ 63.00
Dithane F45 F 2.4 qt 5 $ 13.60 gal $ 40.80
Ridomil Gold/Bravo F 1 pt 0 $700.00 gal $ - $ 103.80