Wheat yields per acre in Germany were twice as high as on comparable U.S. farms, according to an analysis that looked at production, costs, and profits for representative farms in major wheat-growing regions. “The typical farms in Australia, Germany, Poland, and North Dakota exhibited a positive average economic profit during the 2018 to 2022 period,” wrote Purdue professor Michael Langemeier at the farmdoc daily blog.
The typical 1,100-hectare farm in Germany harvested an average 118.1 bushels an acre during the study period, compared with 52.8 bushels an acre on a 1,300-hectare farm in North Dakota and 45.8 bushels an acre on a 2,025-hectare farm in Kansas. Australia had the lowest average yield, 28.9 bushels an acre. Langemeier looked at wheat production in seven nations: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States.
Gross revenue per hectare was substantially higher for the representative farms in Germany and Poland. “However, cost is also substantially higher for these two farms,” said Langemeier.
The average profit for the 10 farms studied by Langemeier was $10 per hectare. “The typical farms from Australia, Germany, Poland, and North Dakota exhibited economic profit during the five-year period. Average losses per hectare for the other typical farms ranged from a loss of $161 per hectare for the Canadian farm in Saskatoon to a loss of $42 per hectare for the farm in Central Ukraine. The average loss for the farm in northwest Kansas during the five-year period was $63 per hectare.”