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Days Suitable for Field Work in Missouri

Brent Carpenter and, Raymond Massey (May, 2022)

Summary

The number of days available to complete landbased agricultural activities influences decisions about inputs (e.g., variety/hybrid planted, pesticide used) and machinery. Limited fieldwork days during critical times, such as tillage, planting and harvest, require careful management. A large machinery complement will complete fieldwork quickly but can increase ownership costs. A small machinery complement may have less ownership cost but cause delays of some key activities that affect productivity. The size of machinery that can efficiently complete the necessary activities depends on how many days it can actually be used in the field. The data reported are from Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service (MASS) reports of the number of days each week that soil and moisture conditions are suitable for fieldwork.