Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Rice Rotation Calculator Overview
To support rice growers and other interested persons in understanding the possible profitability of rotating out of rice, we have developed a crop rotation calculator to explore how different production decisions may impact profitability in the year following rice. This is an interactive decision support tool that calculates the short-term profitability of switching from rice over to a rotational crop. The calculator only compares rice profitability to rotation crop profitability in one year. It doesn’t capture how rice in future years may be impacted by the rotational crop. The calculator compares the potential costs/savings and profits of a rice crop to switching over to one of four rotational crops: tomato, sunflower, safflower, or beans. Users of the calculator will be able to manipulate values, based on their own on farm costs.
Custom farm work (contracting with someone else to conduct certain tasks including pesticide application, seeding, bed preparation etc.) is becoming more common and can be a feasible decision for growers who do not have their own equipment. This calculator allows you to explore custom farming cost options, or equipment cost options. The custom work options represent costs for hiring outside help to do specific operations, while the equipment costs are represented by the overhead and operating costs of running your own equipment and associated hours of labor.
Who is this Calculator for?
This calculator has been developed for the context of rotations with California flooded rice within the Sacramento Valley regions. Therefore, it is particularly useful for continuous rice growers who produce in these regions who may be interested in trying to integrate rotations into their operation. However, the tool can be useful for anyone who is interested in understanding short-term financial impacts of crop rotations.
How do you use this Calculator?
- Start by picking the rotation crop you wish to explore. You have four options: safflower, sunflower, beans, or tomato.
- You will be taken to an interface with a drop-down menu. The drop-down menu will show you several crop cost categories. Each category will be accompanied by cost components that have associated values.
- Click on the first category Baseline Information. The calculator compares the costs and benefits associated with producing rice to a rotation crop. Under the Baseline Information category, you will enter your price and yield for your rice crop, your cost for water, and your cost for land (rent). You will also pick a yield value for your rotation crop in the baseline info section.
- After you have entered in your baseline information, continue to the next cost category, and change values as you see fit. The calculator values are defaulted to display an average cost based on current research. However, you can change these costs based on your own circumstances by using the sliding bar or entering in the value yourself. As you continue to enter the information and move through the cost categories, you will see how the costs start to accumulate. You may also see how savings start to accumulate. For example, perhaps you will not pay as much for fertilizers and pesticides for the rotational crop.
Cost categories and information icons
You will choose values for the following categories: baseline information, opportunity cost of time learning the new crop and finding markets for the new crop, seed, equipment and implements, straw management, field reconstruction (i.e., levee deconstruction/formation or additional slope), labor, inputs, harvest, irrigation, extra expenses (which includes office expenses and compliance payments), crop loss, and rent. As you explore the cost components, there will be informational icons which will provide extra information to help you make decisions based on your farm context or offer clarifying information about the cost component. Click these icons to show the relevant information.
What is opportunity cost?
In economic terms, opportunity costs are costs you may incur if engaging in an alternative economic practice. Under this category, we attribute this cost based on how the grower values their own time ($/hr.) and associate this with the number of hours it would take to learn the new cropping system, to find a new market, and extra time spent on required administrative responsibilities. These costs are predominantly impacting the first year of production, and therefore we account for them under a "Year-1" scenario in the final outputs, and then present an "average year" without these expenses.
Calculator outcomes
In cost-benefit analysis, any component of revenue or costs that changes as a result from the changing practice can be either a benefit or a cost. For example, if less fertilizer is required because of the new practice (in this case switching to a different crop), this is a benefit.
There will be two ways to view the outcomes of the calculator. Visually, a graph will show you five pieces of information: the difference between rice revenue and rotation crop revenue, the difference between rice costs and rotation crop costs during year 1 (this includes opportunity costs), as well as in an average year (this does not include opportunity cost). Finally, the graph will show the profit differences between the rice crop and rotation crop with both year 1 and an average year. Note that this “average year” does not account for possible benefits and costs of crop rotation.
Below the graph, you will see a list of the cost categories, which will show an itemized list of where the grower would save money, or have extra costs, relative to the average costs for rice.
What are the limitations of this calculator?
This calculator shows a cost-benefit analysis of a short-term switch from rice to another crop. A long-term study may present different outcomes represented as total net present value, which is your return on investment over time. Also, while crop rotations may not be profitable when looked at a 1-year basis, some growers who rotate state that they experience an increase in rice yields and decrease in rice input costs over time. This includes a 5-10% increase in rice yields, savings in nitrogen inputs in the following rice crop, and weed control benefits, leading to decreased herbicide requirements. Under these parameters, even if you lose money one year, you may experience an increase in income over the long-term. Users of this calculator should note the outcomes show only what it costs to switch out of rice into an alternative crop, rather than a complete crop rotation analysis. Further research is needed to understand how crop rotations impact the subsequent rice crop to ascribe values to these changing parameters.
Reading the graph
If revenue differences are negative, then you make more revenue from rice relative to the rotational crop. If revenue differences are positive, then you make more revenue from the rotational crop relative to rice. If costs show a positive number, this indicates you will potentially save money when switching over to the rotation crop. If costs are negative, you incur extra costs. If net revenues are negative, then you lose profit relative to rice. If net revenues are positive, then you will make more money than you would growing rice.
How did we develop this calculator?
This calculator was developed using UCCE cost of production studies and grower interviews. Therefore, prices used for the baseline rice crop may not be representative of every farm or ranch. This cost study also does not include infrastructure costs and may be missing other cost components. Equipment costs were based on UCCE cost assumptions and included overhead and operating costs. Operating costs included fuel and repair costs, while overhead costs for equipment were estimated in each study using Capital Recovery to value annual depreciation and interest rate of capital investments. Annual overhead and operating costs were converted to average hourly rates then scaled to $/acre. With this method, it is important to note that values will be different based on grower's average land size and the total hours of equipment use.
During the summer of 2021, four focus groups were held to evaluate the economic costs and requirements for switching from rice over to a rotational crop. While UCCE cost of production studies are available for these crops individually, we focused specifically on the experiences of rice growers who rotated with other crops from rice. Our goal was to shed light on the additional time and effort of finding new markets and learning a new crop, as well as required changes in equipment, land preparation, labor, and irrigation that may be expected when switching from a flooded rice system to a rotational crop. Hence, these focus groups were a crucial step for understanding how rice growers' conditions differ from common row crop growers and how these conditions correlated to different economic outcomes for production. To supplement the focus group outcomes, UCCE cost studies and partial budgets were also used to extrapolate prices for relevant cost components for the individual crops. Costs were calculated for each crop ($ per acre). We used the cost-benefit equation, Profit = Revenue - Costs. In cost-benefit analysis, any component of revenue or costs that changes as a result from the changing practice can be either a benefit or a cost. For example, if less fertilizer is required because of the new practice (in this case switching to a different crop), this is a benefit.
Who developed this Calculator?
This Calculator was developed by a collaborative effort between UC Davis, UCCE, UC IPM and was funded by the Western IPM Center. If you have questions or suggestions to improve the usability, please contact Whitney Brim-DeForest (wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu), Cooperative Extension Rice Advisor, or Sara Rosenberg (srosenberg@ucdavis.edu), UC Davis Doctoral Student in Horticulture and Agronomy.
We would like to acknowledge other contributors to this research: Cameron Pittelkow, Ellen Bruno, Luis Espino, Bruce Linquist, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Kassim Al-Khatib, members of the UC IPM rice work group and the California Rice growers who participated in the research.
Rosenberg S, Bruno E, Lam C, Tooyserkani B, Zorlu H, Martin T, Pittelkow C, Brim-DeForest W. (2022). UC IPM Crop Rotation in Rice Calculator. https://rice-rotation-calculator.ipm.ucanr.edu/
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Rice Rotation Calculator Overview
To support rice growers and other interested persons in understanding the possible profitability of rotating out of rice, we have developed a crop rotation calculator to explore how different production decisions may impact profitability in the year following rice. This is an interactive decision support tool that calculates the short-term profitability of switching from rice over to a rotational crop. The calculator only compares rice profitability to rotation crop profitability in one year. It doesn’t capture how rice in future years may be impacted by the rotational crop. The calculator compares the potential costs/savings and profits of a rice crop to switching over to one of four rotational crops: tomato, sunflower, safflower, or beans. Users of the calculator will be able to manipulate values, based on their own on farm costs.
Custom farm work (contracting with someone else to conduct certain tasks including pesticide application, seeding, bed preparation etc.) is becoming more common and can be a feasible decision for growers who do not have their own equipment. This calculator allows you to explore custom farming cost options, or equipment cost options. The custom work options represent costs for hiring outside help to do specific operations, while the equipment costs are represented by the overhead and operating costs of running your own equipment and associated hours of labor.
Who is this Calculator for?
This calculator has been developed for the context of rotations with California flooded rice within the Sacramento Valley regions. Therefore, it is particularly useful for continuous rice growers who produce in these regions who may be interested in trying to integrate rotations into their operation. However, the tool can be useful for anyone who is interested in understanding short-term financial impacts of crop rotations.
How do you use this Calculator?
- Start by picking the rotation crop you wish to explore. You have four options: safflower, sunflower, beans, or tomato.
- You will be taken to an interface with a drop-down menu. The drop-down menu will show you several crop cost categories. Each category will be accompanied by cost components that have associated values.
- Click on the first category Baseline Information. The calculator compares the costs and benefits associated with producing rice to a rotation crop. Under the Baseline Information category, you will enter your price and yield for your rice crop, your cost for water, and your cost for land (rent). You will also pick a yield value for your rotation crop in the baseline info section.
- After you have entered in your baseline information, continue to the next cost category, and change values as you see fit. The calculator values are defaulted to display an average cost based on current research. However, you can change these costs based on your own circumstances by using the sliding bar or entering in the value yourself. As you continue to enter the information and move through the cost categories, you will see how the costs start to accumulate. You may also see how savings start to accumulate. For example, perhaps you will not pay as much for fertilizers and pesticides for the rotational crop.
Cost categories and information icons
You will choose values for the following categories: baseline information, opportunity cost of time learning the new crop and finding markets for the new crop, seed, equipment and implements, straw management, field reconstruction (i.e., levee deconstruction/formation or additional slope), labor, inputs, harvest, irrigation, extra expenses (which includes office expenses and compliance payments), crop loss, and rent. As you explore the cost components, there will be informational icons which will provide extra information to help you make decisions based on your farm context or offer clarifying information about the cost component. Click these icons to show the relevant information.
What is opportunity cost?
In economic terms, opportunity costs are costs you may incur if engaging in an alternative economic practice. Under this category, we attribute this cost based on how the grower values their own time ($/hr.) and associate this with the number of hours it would take to learn the new cropping system, to find a new market, and extra time spent on required administrative responsibilities. These costs are predominantly impacting the first year of production, and therefore we account for them under a "Year-1" scenario in the final outputs, and then present an "average year" without these expenses.
Calculator outcomes
In cost-benefit analysis, any component of revenue or costs that changes as a result from the changing practice can be either a benefit or a cost. For example, if less fertilizer is required because of the new practice (in this case switching to a different crop), this is a benefit.
There will be two ways to view the outcomes of the calculator. Visually, a graph will show you five pieces of information: the difference between rice revenue and rotation crop revenue, the difference between rice costs and rotation crop costs during year 1 (this includes opportunity costs), as well as in an average year (this does not include opportunity cost). Finally, the graph will show the profit differences between the rice crop and rotation crop with both year 1 and an average year. Note that this “average year” does not account for possible benefits and costs of crop rotation.
Below the graph, you will see a list of the cost categories, which will show an itemized list of where the grower would save money, or have extra costs, relative to the average costs for rice.
What are the limitations of this calculator?
This calculator shows a cost-benefit analysis of a short-term switch from rice to another crop. A long-term study may present different outcomes represented as total net present value, which is your return on investment over time. Also, while crop rotations may not be profitable when looked at a 1-year basis, some growers who rotate state that they experience an increase in rice yields and decrease in rice input costs over time. This includes a 5-10% increase in rice yields, savings in nitrogen inputs in the following rice crop, and weed control benefits, leading to decreased herbicide requirements. Under these parameters, even if you lose money one year, you may experience an increase in income over the long-term. Users of this calculator should note the outcomes show only what it costs to switch out of rice into an alternative crop, rather than a complete crop rotation analysis. Further research is needed to understand how crop rotations impact the subsequent rice crop to ascribe values to these changing parameters.
Reading the graph
If revenue differences are negative, then you make more revenue from rice relative to the rotational crop. If revenue differences are positive, then you make more revenue from the rotational crop relative to rice. If costs show a positive number, this indicates you will potentially save money when switching over to the rotation crop. If costs are negative, you incur extra costs. If net revenues are negative, then you lose profit relative to rice. If net revenues are positive, then you will make more money than you would growing rice.
How did we develop this calculator?
This calculator was developed using UCCE cost of production studies and grower interviews. Therefore, prices used for the baseline rice crop may not be representative of every farm or ranch. This cost study also does not include infrastructure costs and may be missing other cost components. Equipment costs were based on UCCE cost assumptions and included overhead and operating costs. Operating costs included fuel and repair costs, while overhead costs for equipment were estimated in each study using Capital Recovery to value annual depreciation and interest rate of capital investments. Annual overhead and operating costs were converted to average hourly rates then scaled to $/acre. With this method, it is important to note that values will be different based on grower's average land size and the total hours of equipment use.
During the summer of 2021, four focus groups were held to evaluate the economic costs and requirements for switching from rice over to a rotational crop. While UCCE cost of production studies are available for these crops individually, we focused specifically on the experiences of rice growers who rotated with other crops from rice. Our goal was to shed light on the additional time and effort of finding new markets and learning a new crop, as well as required changes in equipment, land preparation, labor, and irrigation that may be expected when switching from a flooded rice system to a rotational crop. Hence, these focus groups were a crucial step for understanding how rice growers' conditions differ from common row crop growers and how these conditions correlated to different economic outcomes for production. To supplement the focus group outcomes, UCCE cost studies and partial budgets were also used to extrapolate prices for relevant cost components for the individual crops. Costs were calculated for each crop ($ per acre). We used the cost-benefit equation, Profit = Revenue - Costs. In cost-benefit analysis, any component of revenue or costs that changes as a result from the changing practice can be either a benefit or a cost. For example, if less fertilizer is required because of the new practice (in this case switching to a different crop), this is a benefit.
Who developed this Calculator?
This Calculator was developed by a collaborative effort between UC Davis, UCCE, UC IPM and was funded by the Western IPM Center. If you have questions or suggestions to improve the usability, please contact Whitney Brim-DeForest (wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu), Cooperative Extension Rice Advisor, or Sara Rosenberg (srosenberg@ucdavis.edu), UC Davis Doctoral Student in Horticulture and Agronomy.
We would like to acknowledge other contributors to this research: Cameron Pittelkow, Ellen Bruno, Luis Espino, Bruce Linquist, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Kassim Al-Khatib, members of the UC IPM rice work group and the California Rice growers who participated in the research.
Rosenberg S, Bruno E, Lam C, Tooyserkani B, Zorlu H, Martin T, Pittelkow C, Brim-DeForest W. (2022). UC IPM Crop Rotation in Rice Calculator. https://rice-rotation-calculator.ipm.ucanr.edu/