Quick look
What custom work costs
Averages from the surveys nearest Tennessee. Open a job for every state's full list.
A custom rate is what someone charges to do a field job for you with their own tractor, equipment and labor, like baling your hay or combining your corn.
University extension surveys ask custom operators what they charge. Each state's figures are shown as its survey published them.
Find your state or the nearest one, the job, and the unit (per acre, per bale, per hour). The big number is that survey's average; the range shows the low and high answers.
Custom Baling Rates- Kentucky 2024Small Square Bales - Baling$1.15 per bale
- Missouri 2026Small square baling$1.88 per bale
- Indiana 2025Small Rectangular Bales (25-60 lbs.)$1.12 per bale
- Ohio 2026Baled and Dropped on Ground$1.12 per bale
Custom Combining Rates- Kentucky 2024Combine Corn$42.00 per acre
- Missouri 2026Combining, including grain cart - Corn$47.95 per acre
- Indiana 2025Corn - Combine Only$36.97 per acre
- Ohio 2026Harvest Corn - Combine, Grain Cart, Haul Local to Farm$45.41 per acre
Custom Planting and Drilling Rates- Kentucky 2024Planting (Conventional) - Corn$24.50 per acre
- Missouri 2026Conventional planting - Corn or grain sorghum: plant in 30-inch rows$24.65 per acre
- Indiana 2025Conventional Till Soybeans - Drilled$18.33 per acre
- Ohio 2026Plant Corn, 30 Inch Rows$25.20 per acre
Custom Spraying Rates- Kentucky 2024Spraying (self-propelled)$8.00 per acre
- Missouri 2026Spray with row crop sprayer$9.42 per acre
- Indiana 2025Tractor and Sprayer$8.40 per acre
- Ohio 2026Spraying - Self Propelled Sprayer$10.63 per acre
By operation
Custom rates by farm operation
The same operation compared across every state survey that lists it.
Sources
Surveys used on this site
| State | Survey | Publisher | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (Ag Decision Maker File A3-10, FM 1698) | Revised March 2026 |
| Kansas | Kansas Custom Rates 2026 (Rates Paid by Kansas Farmers for Custom Work) | Kansas Department of Agriculture in cooperation with Kansas State University Land Use Survey Office | 2026 |
| Missouri | Custom Rates for Farm Services in Missouri (G302) | University of Missouri Extension | Revised 3/2026 |
| Kentucky | Custom Machinery Rates Applicable to Kentucky (2024) | University of Kentucky, Department of Agricultural Economics (AEC 2024-01) | April 17th, 2024 |
| Ohio | Ohio Farm Custom Rates 2026 | Ohio State University Extension | June 2026 |
| Nebraska | 2026 Nebraska Agricultural Custom Rates (EC823) | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Center for Agricultural Profitability | April 24, 2026 |
| Indiana | 2025 Indiana Farm Custom Rates | Purdue University (Center for Commercial Agriculture) | April 2025 |
| North Dakota | 2024 North Dakota Custom Rates, Part I - Early Season Operations | North Dakota State University Extension | August 2024 |
| North Dakota | 2024 North Dakota Custom Rates, Part II - Late Season Operations | North Dakota State University Extension | December 2024 |
Figures are shown exactly as each survey printed them. Kentucky's guide is built by the University of Kentucky from other states' surveys adjusted for Kentucky costs; the others survey operators in that state.
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Questions
About custom rates
What is a custom rate?
The price a custom operator charges to do a field operation with their own machine and labor, such as baling hay, combining or spraying.
Do custom rates include fuel?
It depends on the survey. Iowa and most others include fuel, labor and machinery costs; each survey's note on this site says what its rates include.
Why do rates vary so much?
Field size, distance, crop condition, machine size and local supply of operators all change what is charged. Surveys report the average and range of what operators said they charge.
How often are surveys updated?
Iowa publishes every year. Most other states survey every two to four years. Each table shows its edition.