2000 WATERMELON PRODUCTION BUDGET 1
				Plastic Mulch and Drip Irrigation
	ITEM				EXPLANATION		PRICE PER		YIELD (cwt/A)				YOUR
							UNIT						BUDGET
									240	300	360
RECEIPTS 2
	Watermelons						$7.00	/cwt	$1,680	$2,100	$2,520
VARIABLE  COSTS
	Plants				2400	plants	0.08	/plant	192	192	192
	Fertilizer 3
		N			100	lb.	0.23	/lb.	23	23	23
		P2O5			75	lb.	0.28	/lb.	21	21	21
		K2O			125	lb.	0.13	/lb.	16	16	16
		Lime			2000	lb.	14	/ton	14	14	14
	Black Plastic/Drip Lines 4								270	270	270
	Pesticides 5								179	179	179
	Bee Rental				1	hive/A	40	/hive	40	40	40
	Hired Labor (hrs.) 6
		Machine		7	7	7	7.50	/hr	53	53	53
		Harvesting		25	28	31	7.50	/hr	188	210	233
		Packing		33	37	41	7.50	/hr	248	278	308
		Other		9	9	9	7.50	/hr	68	68	68
	Fuel, Oil, Grease								27	30	33
	Repairs								35	40	45
	Miscellaneous 7								12	12	12
	Marketing 8				5%	of gross revenue			84	105	126
	Int. on Oper. Cap. 9				6	mo.	9.0%		62	65	68
TOTAL VARIABLE COSTS						-Per Acre			1531	1615	1699
						-Per Cwt			6.38	5.38	4.72
FIXED COSTS
	Operator Labor Charge				7	hours	7.50	/hr	53	53	53
	Housing Charge 10								56	56	56
	Mach. And Equip. Charge								57	57	57
	Irrigation System 11				$15,000		20%		150	150	150
	Land Charge				Rent				100	150	200
	Management Charge				5% of Gross				84	105	126
TOTAL FIXED COSTS									500	571	642
TOTAL COSTS						-Per Acre			2030	2185	2340
						-Per Cwt			8.46	7.28	6.50
RETURN ABOVE VARIABLE COSTS									149	485	821
RETURN ABOVE TOTAL COSTS									(350)	(85)	180
1	Conventional fertilizer application, no fertigation.
2	Average price over entire season.  Early watermelon prices may be significantly higher
3	See 2000 Ohio Vegetable Production Guide- Bulletin 672 for recommendations
4	Based on 7,260 linear row feet. ( 6 foot row spacing).  One time use.
5	See current OSUE bulletins 472, 789, and 672 for recommended pesticides.
6	Labor estimates based on "Labor Standards for Non-Traditional Kansas Crops" available from Kansas State University
7	Costs include soil test, small tools, supplies, utilities, etc…
8	Marketing charges are assumed to be 5% of gross revenue.  However, these costs vary greatly depending
		upon the type of marketing involved. Marketing costs may be minimal or significant in operations with an extensive
		marketing program.  These costs should include the labor, advertising, supplies, transporting, and facilities
		used in the  marketing of the melons.
9	Interest charges for 6 months @ 9% interest excluding labor
10	Housing charge can be estimated at $45/ft2 x 105 ft2 per person x 15 workers per unit = $70,875 x 20.75% overhead x
	50% usage on watermelons= $7,353.  Trash collection, utilit., land charge, water @ $2,000 x 50% usage = $1,000
	$7,353 + $1,000 = $8,353/ 15 workers per unit x 0.1 worker per acre = $56 per harvested acre.  Some cost sharing on
		housing investment is available through Agr. Labor Camp Improvement funds (Ohio 614-466-2285)
11	Total cost of irrigation system $15,000, expensed at 20% over 20 acres.
		$15,000 x 20% / 20 acres = $150/acre
		Cost reflects depreciation, interest, and insurance costs of owning system.