United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Montana Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content




Machinery Cost Savings

There is a reduction in machinery costs per acre when a switch is made for seedbed preparation from conventional tillage of sugar beets to strip till sugar beets (see Table 3).

Table 3. Machinery Costs for Various Tillage Operations
Tillage System Type of Implement Machinery Cost per Acre
Conventional Tillage Chisel Plow  $5.81
Mulcher  5.20
Mulcher  5.20
Level  4.63
Level  4.63
Harrow  6.31
Total Machinery Costs $31.78
Strip Till Operations Ripping Shank with Packer $17.96
Total Machinery Costs $17.9

Machinery Cost Savings per Acre $13.82

The machinery cost savings of the strip till seedbed preparation for sugar beets compared to conventional tillage using a chisel plow are $13.82 per acre. If a moldboard plow is used the savings are $18.23 per acre.

< Back to Energy Conservation on Irrigated Land in Eastern Montana

Last Modified: 11/06/2007