Table 1.
Work rates for field operations and frequency of each of these operations for each crop. Work rates taken from Anon (2011d). The number of operations applied to each crop is taken from Nix (2010) and expert advice. The work rates for winter wheat are shown for 1st wheat where 100% of the recommended nitrogen fertiliser is applied.
| Field operation | hr ha−1 | hr t−1 | Winter wheat (1st wheat, 100% N) | Winter oilseed rape | Winter barley | Spring barley | Winter field beans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultivations | Plough (6 furrow) – heavy land | 1.18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Power harrow 4 m – heavy land | 1.11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Drilling/seeding | Precision Drill 12 row | 0.71 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Crop maintenance | Spraying 24 m | 0.14 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Fertilising – spinning | 0.17 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Crop harvest | Combining 6 m winter cereals | 0.69 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Combining 6 m spring cereals | 0.59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Combining 6 m oilseeds (direct) | 0.83 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Combining 6 m pulses | 0.63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Swather 4 m | 0.61 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Grain cart (two trailer, one tractor) | 0.83 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Straw baling (big round bales) | 0.50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Straw carting (two men tractor loader and trailers) | 0.50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Crop handling to/from store | 0.03 | 0.25 | 0.099 | 0.21 | 0.16 | 0.12 | ||
| Drying (manned cont flow dryer) | 0.07 | 0.58 | 0.231 | 0.49 | 0.37 | 0.28 | ||