Labor Hour Estimates

Labor hours in the budgets are used in FINPACK for long range planning (FINLRB) and for monthly cash flow projections with budgets (FINFLO). Labor hours are used in long range planning (FINLRB) to compare the labor requirements of alternative plans. Monthly cash flow projections with budgets (FINFLO) use labor hours with the cost of production calculations. Here, labor hours from the budgets are used as the default for allocating related operating expenses to the particular crop and livestock enterprises in the plan. This approach streamlines data entry in the FINFLO plan.

To help with this data entry element, the tables on the following pages show labor hour estimates for various crop and livestock enterprises from FINBIN. These estimates are a good source if labor hours are not available from the farm / ranch records or another local source.

The crop labor hour estimates are averages from owned and cash rented land, from 2022 through 2024, and includes farms from Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.

The livestock labor hour estimates are averages from 2022 through 2024 and includes farms and ranches from Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Crop Labor Hours per Acre

Crop Average ≤50 Acres 51-100 Acres 101-250 Acres 251-500 Acres 501-1,000 Acres 1,001-1,500 Acres 1,501-2,000 Acres 2,001-5,000 Acres >5000 Acres
Barley 1.4 1.4 2.1 1.3 1.4 1.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Beans, Dry 2.0 n/a 2.4 2.2 2.0 1.7 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Canola 1.2 n/a n/a 1.7 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0 n/a n/a
Corn 2.7 4.2 3.5 3.2 2.8 2.6 2.2 2.5 2.3 n/a
Corn Silage 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.9 4.4 3.3 n/a n/a n/a
Hay, Alfalfa 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.4 3.3 3.1 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Haylage, Alfalfa 3.2 3.7 2.7 3.4 3.0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Oats 1.6 2.0 1.5 1.7 1.5 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Potatoes 13.9 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Rye 1.4 1.9 1.7 1.4 1.4 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sorghum, Grain 2.0 2.0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Soybeans 1.6 2.1 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.4
Sugar Beets 5.8 5.9 5.4 5.9 5.4 6.9 4.8 n/a n/a n/a
Sunflowers 1.5 2.2 n/a 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 n/a n/a n/a
Sweet Corn 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Wheat, Durum 1.1 n/a n/a 1.5 1.2 1.3 n/a 0.9 n/a n/a
Wheat, Spring 1.4 1.8 2.1 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.2 n/a
Wheat, Winter 1.8 2.4 2.1 2.1 1.5 1.5 n/a n/a n/a n/a

 

Livestock Labor Hours per Head

Breeding Type Enterprises Average ≤50 Head 51-100 Head 101-200 Head 201-500 Head >500 Head
Beef Cow-Calf 8.4 14.4 11.6 7.2 4.5 7.7
Dairy 39.0 43.4 37.5 37.3 37.8 40.3
Dairy and Replacement Heifers 43.1 49.3 44.5 42.2 43.4 42.9
Sheep, Market Lamb Production 4.2 9.7 5.6 3.7 3.4 n/a

Livestock Labor Hours per Head

Dairy Grow/Finish Enterprises Average ≤25 Head 26-50 Head 51-100 Head 101-250 Head >250 Head
Dairy Replacement Heifers 6.2 9.5 8.3 6.4 6.2 6.1
Dairy Finishing Steers 4.9 4.5 8.0 6.0 4.9 4.6

Livestock Labor Hours per Head

Beef Grow/Finish Enterprises Average ≤100 Head 101-200 Head 201-500 Head 501-1,000 Head >1,000 Head
Beef Backgrounding 1.3 2.9 2.7 1.8 0.8 0.5
Beef Finishing 2.8 5.7 3.5 4.0 2.9 2.1

Livestock Labor Hours per Head

Hog Grow/Finish Enterprises Average ≤500 Head 501-1,000 Head 1,001-2,500 Head 2,501-5,000 Head >5,000 Head
Hogs, Finishing 0.2 n/a n/a n/a 0.3 0.2

Livestock Labor Hours per Litter

Hog Enterprises Average ≤100 Head 101-200 Head 201-500 Head 501-1,000 Head >1,000 Head
Hogs, Farrow to Finish 8.4 12.9 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Hogs, Farrow to Weaning 2.0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.9