Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

W. Schneeberger and F.J. Bär:

Influence of timeless costs on the optimal length of the sugar-beet harvesting period from the viewpoint of cooperation farmers.

Summary

The profitability of sugar-beet production is influenced by the costs of harvesting. Sugar-beet producers therefore should be concerned about the length of the harvesting period. Decisions on this require knowledge about the machinery costs and the loss in the revenue due to expanding the harvesting period (timeless costs). To calculate the timeless costs the sugar-beet yield per hectare and the sugar content of the beet according to the harvest time must be known. A feasible way to gather data concerning the sugar-beet yield per hectare and the sugar content of the beet according to the harvesting date at reasonable costs has been considered in collecting yield data from farmers operating beet harvesting machines in joint ownership. The yield data of three years were used to estimate functions which describe the development of sugar-beet yield and the sugar content respectively during the harvest season. The yield and sugar content functions were used to derive a revenue function which was the base to calculate the timeless for B-3, C1- and C2-sugar-beets. The timeless costs were incorporated in a cost model to determine the optimal length of the harvesting period for a six rows harvesting machine. The results show that the optimal length of season is determined mainly by the price of sugar beet (B- or C-beet). The optimal length of the harvesting period calculated for the conditions assumed rs 41 days for B-beets and 45 days for C-beets respectively. Key words: sugar beet, timeless costs, cost for sugar beet harvesting.