Costs and returns always have to be at the top of our minds, but if we are not on top of figures in 2023, there will be a big shock at the end of the season.

Many farmers would have bought at least some CAN at under €400/t in autumn 2021 and more would have purchased at around €700/t in December 2021 and January 2022. In recent weeks, CAN has been quoted at €800/t, so that is an immediate jump in spend on farms.

Coupled with this, Teagasc estimates that seed price is up by as much as 30% and plant protection costs by approximately 10%. Growing crops that suit your farm, cut costs and deliver a return is essential, so 2023 may need to see many farmers change tack.

Teagasc has released its Crop Costs and Returns figures for 2023. Each farmer needs to sit down and examine these figures and use them to calculate their own costs.

There may be costs in this where you can save money, where the machinery running isn’t as high and you should adjust to suit yourself.

Throughout the season, you might save a few euro here and there by leaving out insecticide or cutting down on products where disease pressure is low, but for now, look at what it will cost you to grow the crops in a high-cost scenario, along with the possible low return.

Then, set a price in your head for each crop that you are happy to sell at and use this as your guide for selling grain through the season.

This is a year to take out risk, so if there is a chance to sell at profit in the season, you should probably take it on some of your produce, but do not do it without having calculated the figures.

The figures in Table 1 show a breakeven yield, so think about your yields over the past three years or so and what you can achieve on your farm. Then think about how that will change your figures and income.

What crops look like good value?

Beans are a standout crop in the Teagasc figures. They come in with the second-lowest variable cost on the list (peas are the lowest) and the break-even yield is 1.8t/ac, which is a very achievable yield with this crop.

The protein payment is also set to be high this year, between €500/ha and €600/ha depending on the total area planted. As well as this, beans open the door for premium crops like seed and gluten-free oats, and will add to the yield of the following crop and help soil structure.

Malting barley is also looking promising. However, growers should clarify areas they are growing for their contracts, to ensure they will be growing for the malting market.

Costs are relatively low on winter and spring oats and there are a number of premium crop contracts available for oat crops. In last week’s paper, we revealed that Tirlán wants to double the area planted to gluten-free oats and this is another opportunity for farmers to get paid a premium price and take out harvesting and transport costs.

Fertiliser used

The figures on fertiliser use in Table 2 are based on using CAN plus sulphur (S) on winter and spring cereals and using 13-6-20 on spring cereals and 10-10-20, along with 50% potash, on winter cereals. Use was based on fields with a nitrogen index of 1 and a phosphorus (P) index of 3, including a yield bonus for both. Teagasc notes that for soil index 1 and 2 for P and K, the build-up cost would come to approximately €190/ha for P and €96/ha for K.

Some of the prices used

  • CAN + S - €800/t.
  • 13-6-20 - €890/t.
  • 10-10-20 - €915/t.
  • 50% K - €970/t.
  • Blue label seed - €750/t (with Latitude dressing another €220/t or with Manganese dressing another €70/t).