Have you ever driven past a large tractor pulling a tillage tool and kicking up dust in a farm field and thought to yourself ‘I wonder how much money it’s costing that farmer in the driver’s seat to run that thing?’
If so, you might be a fellow machinery geek, and you also might want to check out The University of Illinois’ Farm Business Management “Machinery Costs Estimate: Tractors” report.
The study, published on Sept. 1, found that a high-horsepower, brand-new row crop tractor that puts out 640 hp costs a staggering $350 per engine hour in 2025.
At 590 hp, the same tractor would cost about $327 per engine hour. To get your hourly tractor spend down to a more reasonable level, under the $200 mark, you would have to trade down to a 240 hp tractor or lower, according to the data.
With its release at Farm Progress Show last week in Decatur, Ill., still fresh on the mind, it’s hard not to wonder how much it costs to run that new Case-IH Steiger 785 Quadtrac with 853 hp under the hood?
And then if you’re hauling a 12-row planter full of freshly treated, expensive traited seed as well, how much does that hourly rate go up?
The study considers several factors such as machine list price, labor and fuel costs, and “overhead” which includes asset depreciation, insurance, housing costs, interest and repair costs.
While the $350-per-hour figure sounds astronomical, it also makes sense, too. Literally everything seems like it costs more money these days — eggs, car insurance, a standard one-bedroom apartment in town — so why wouldn’t it cost more to run that shiny new tractor too?
It’s important we also keep in mind these figures from the University of Illinois are only estimated costs. The actual costs of running your farm equipment will depend on several factors that differ across the various ag production regions. The University of Illinois says the figures are “useful for determining machinery costs on farms, rental rates for machinery and custom rates for machinery operations.”
The report was prepared by Dale Lattz and Gary Schnitkey, department of agricultural and consumer economics, University of Illinois.
Head over to farmdoc.illinois.edu to check out the data for yourself
