FarmMind Tutorials
Aggregate vs Field Costs
Each cost can be applied to fields in different ways. Understanding the difference between aggregate costs and per-field costs is important for accurate financial tracking.
Per-Acre Costs
Per-acre costs multiply the cost by the total acreage of all selected fields. For example, if you have a pesticide cost of $3/gallon with an application rate of 5 gal/acre, checking the per-acre box will multiply this cost by the field acreage.
Aggregate Costs
Aggregate costs are 'shared' costs that are applied to multiple fields, such as a tractor cost that's meant for 4 fields, or a lump purchase of Urea for a farm. These costs represent shared expenses that shouldn't be multiplied across fields.
When to Use Each
If a cost is NOT an aggregate cost, it will be multiplied by the number of fields for quick and easy calculation. However, most of the time when applying a single cost to multiple fields, it should be marked as an aggregate cost (and is automatically inferred when importing receipts).
- Use Aggregate: Tractor costs shared across multiple fields, lump purchases for the whole farm, labor costs for multiple fields
- Use Per-Acre: Pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides applied per acre, per-acre labor costs
- Use Per-Quantity: Specific quantities like 3 scouts at $20/scout, or 5 gal/acre at $3/gallon