CropBench+

CropBench+ is a levy-funded, independent and confidential cost management tool. It allows growers to make full analyses of total costs of production beyond gross margin level for cereal and oilseed crops.

HGCA launched CropBench+ in June 2014. Cropbench+ is based on, and supersedes, the computer-based cost management tool ‘CropBench’ launched by HGCA in 2005. The new ‘plus’ version is solely web-based, with a data collection service offered to Arable Business Groups.

The HGCA-facilitated data collection is validated to ensure consistency and provides up-to-date analysis by harvest year, rather than financial period.

For more information visit the CropBench+ website at www.cropbenchplus.org.uk

Simply enter the data required into the website following registration, or if you are a member of an Arable Business Group which would like to use CropBench+, HGCA offers a levy funded data collection and entry service (contact your Regional Manager for more details).

Costs are allocated to the relevant enterprise or crop, down to a net margin level, with rules applied on a consistent basis across farms.

You will be given precise guidance on the data sources needed to complete the enterprise costing; these sources go beyond standard farm accounts or cash books, however all data should be readily available on all farms.

There are a number of cost clusters which can be completed independently: key farm and output data, variable costs, labour, machinery and power, property, rent and finance and overheads.

Summary and detailed enterprise reports can then show growers their cost of production for each crop. The ranking of farms can be determined by total cost of production or by net margin.

Using CropBench+, individual growers can calculate their total costs of production by entering their actual rent and finance costs. However, in group scenarios, these costs are excluded because of their sensitive nature.

In order to give indicative costs of production across regions, the regional averages contain imputed rent and finance costs.

CropBench+ user manual (pdf)

CropBench+ users are generally members of Arable Business Groups as this enables growers to make the most of comparisons via group discussions. Individual growers who are not a member of a group can also benefit from using CropBench+.

Groups who wish to register as an Arable Business Group and use CropBench+ should initially contact their Regional Manager, or email [email protected] along with the group name, members’ list and contact details.

Individuals wishing to use CropBench+ can register directly on the website. Visit www.cropbenchplus.org.uk and click ‘register’. Once your registration has been processed you will be sent an email containing your password so you can log in to your CropBench+ account and start to upload the data required. Visit the Getting Started page when you first log in for details.

For farms within Scotland, please contact HGCA Manager Gavin Dick on 07972 636679 or at [email protected] for further details.

To view the CropBench+ Data Protection Policy please visit www.cropbenchplus.org.uk.