A great deal of money and effort are expended each year to maintain fields in uniform condition suitable for research and to keep manpower, equipment, and supplies readily available for research projects. To help offset a portion of these costs, land and some of the services offered by the farm are provided on a fee basis. Fertilizers, fuel, chemicals, and other research supplies are also available at nominal cost. Farm rental policies and charges are outlined below.
Land on all farms is available for research on a first-come-first-served basis. The staff at Hyslop maintain records of crop history and current status for each field and will make every effort to find land to fit your requirements. You will find the farm staff very knowledgeable in practical research plot design. Advanced consultation and planning of your field research with them will help to avoid problems in later field operations. To avoid dividing the farm into tiny, unmanageable units, acquiring land in blocks of less than one acre is discouraged. Some small areas are available, however, and we will try to meet your needs. Although availability of land is normally not a problem, projects within the Department of Crop and Soil Science will receive preference. Large or unusual land requests generally require approval by the Farm Committee. Unless requested, land is supplied in plowed or fallow condition. Contact Richard Mattix for land requirements.
University and USDA projects will be billed for land monthly at a rate of $41.67 per acre ($500/acre/year). Billing will begin the month after land is assigned and can be paid directly from state or ARF accounts.
Land may also be rented for non-university research projects, however, projects within the university system will receive preference in land assignments. Unless previously arranged, non-university use will be billed at a rate of $100.00 per acre per month or $1,200.00 per acre annually. This fee includes all normal labor and equipment charges as well as the cost of returning the land to a fallow condition. This flat-rate billing method has generally been more convenient for non-university projects.
Rented land can be returned to the farm at any time, but should be returned in good condition. Before land is accepted as returnable, it must be determined that no chemical residues or other factors exist which would prevent uniform research results in the future. The project should be completely finished with the land and all equipment removed. Billing for land rental will be discontinued when land is turned in, however, projects returning land will be charged for all field operations needed to return the land to a plowed condition. The decision to accept returned land and to discontinue charges will be made by farm management. Any disagreements with decisions regarding returned land will be referred to the Farm Committee. The farm will be responsible for planting fall cover crops on all returned land and unassigned plot areas.
2009
($/Acre)
Land Charges
Annual
Monthly
OSU
$500.00
$41.67
Non-OSU
$1,200.00
$100.00
A wide range of farming operations can be provided by the farm staff and are billed to projects on a per hour basis for equipment and labor. This usually involves tillage operations, spreading fertilizer, planting, pesticide application, harvest, and post-harvest residue management. Scheduling farm work is handled by means of written work requests turned in at the office in the Hyslop Farm shop. Work is completed on a first-in-first-out basis, weather and field conditions permitting.
Labor and equipment charges are listed below. Because of the operator skills required, the following equipment is only available with farm staff operators. Hourly billing will include both equipment and labor charges. No charge is made for tillage implements, sprayers, or other attached equipment.
2009
Labor Charges
($/Hour)
Internal
(OSU)External
(Non-OSU)
Mechanic
$30.00
Equipment Operator
$30.00
Student Labor
$15.00
Many pieces of power equipment can be rented by the hour at Hyslop Farm. In the interest of safety, operators are required to obtain instruction from the farm staff before using this equipment. During harvest and planting seasons demand for equipment is high, so advanced scheduling is recommended. Machine time is recorded by the operator on sign-out sheets provided and is billed at the beginning of every month. Machines available for use and rental rates are listed below. Contact Richard Mattix to schedule equipment use.
2009
Machine Charges
($/Hour)
Internal
(OSU)External
(Non-OSU)
Tractor
$10.00-30.00
ATV Rental
$10.00
Combine
$25.00-35.00
Forklift
$15.00
Bobcat
$15.00
Harvester
$10.00
Moon Rover
$15.00
Mower
$5.00-10.00
Self-propelled Planter
$15.00
Swather Tiller
$10.00
In addition, a truck and fifth-wheel trailer are available to transport larger equipment at a cost of $0.40 and $0.35 per mile internally respectively and $0.50 per mile externally for both.
Limited supplemental irrigation is available on each farm. The wells are approximately 100 feet deep, with a static water level of about 35 feet, providing sufficient water to irrigate about 250 acres. Irrigation is used primarily for establishing crops during the drier part of the growing season and for production and irrigation studies on field crops. The department currently owns very little irrigation pipe, however, arrangements can often be made to borrow pipe for stand establishment or other short-term use. Contact Richard Mattix before planning irrigated experiments to determine the best location for your trials.
Since pumping capacity is limited, particularly on Schmidt and Hyslop farms, advanced scheduling of irrigation is needed to ensure that your crops receive water. Irrigation sign-up sheets are posted weekly in the Hyslop farm shop or contact Richard Mattix. Pump operating time is charged at $2.20 per hour.
Facilities exist on Hyslop farm for outdoor drying as well as heated, forced-air drying. Suspended wire lines allow for outdoor drying of large volumes of plant materials during the summer months. The bundle shed can be used for slow air drying under cover. In the main warehouse several sizes of heated, forced-air dryers can be rented by the hour. Check with Richard Mattix to schedule their use. Rates are listed below.
| Gas Dryer | |
| OSU | $2.50-5.00/hour |
| Non-OSU | $3.00-6.00/hour |
Gasoline, diesel, and a wide variety of lubricants are kept on hand at Hyslop for use in our equipment and as a convenience to research projects. All items are available at our cost (wholesale) plus 15% and may be charged directly to project accounts using the sign-out sheets provided. Approved safety cans are on hand to store and transport small amounts of gasoline and diesel needed for power equipment. Contact the farm staff for help with safe storage of flammable liquids.
Small quantities of most commonly used granular fertilizers are kept on hand at Hyslop farm. Larger amounts can be purchased from our bulk bins or by the sack on request. To reduce costs we generally put together bulk fertilizer orders in the spring and the fall and are happy to add project orders to the total. Fertilizers are available at cost plus 15%.
Many commonly used herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides are stored in the chemical storage shed at Hyslop Farm. These can be purchased in any quantity at cost plus 15%. Contact the farm staff if you need to store chemicals in our facility. We have an up-to-date storage building and can provide a safe place to store agricultural chemicals.
Supplies such as paper bags, dust masks, baling twine, and rubber gloves are stored at Hyslop for project use. All items are available at cost plus 15%. Since paper bags are used in large quantity for sample collection and storage, a bulk order including many common sizes is usually made in early spring each year. Contact Richard Mattix to ensure an adequate supply of the sizes you need.
Hyslop farm is fortunate to have well-equipped metal and woodworking shops, and many projects use the farm shop for equipment maintenance and fabrication of research apparatus. Projects are welcome to use the shop any time, however, we do stress safety when working in the shop. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH A PARTICULAR PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, ASK FOR INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING IT. Wood and metalworking supplies and hardware can be found in the shop and can be purchased at cost plus 15%. Check with Kevin Pompe to schedule shop use.
Kevin Pompe is a full time mechanic on our staff. Although his primary responsibility is maintenance and repair of departmental equipment, Kevin is also available to work on project equipment on an hourly basis.
