Custom rates are the agreed upon cost paid to someone for doing a piece of farm related work. That work could be related to tillage, planting, forage harvesting, combining field crops, spreading fertilizer, hauling manure etc. In this publication custom rates include the cost of using the implement and tractor if required, plus all the variable machinery costs such as fuel, oil, lube, twine, etc., and the labor required by the operator to do the specific work or task. Published rates are based on survey responses gathered during the winter of 2015 and spring of 2016. The publication provides an average figure along with the minimum and maximum values. The publication is useful to at least provide a starting point in a discussion for determining a custom rate. Click on the link below to access the publication: