Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 24 ISSUE 2
Written by Dan BODESCU, Oana COCA, Stefania Beatrice PADURARU, Roxana MIHALACHE, Gavril ȘTEFAN

The purpose of the research is to determine the specific capital costs of carrying out agricultural work with the farmers'own agricultural machines compared to the costs of agricultural services. A stratified sample based on economic size was used, consisting of 60 farms specialised in large crops from the NE and SE development regions of Romania. The novelty elements of this research consist in the fact that the analysis of the efficiency of the use of agricultural machinery uses a shadow cost—the opportunity cost—to determine the specific income of the use of agricultural machinery. The results show that small farms spend more than twice as much to carry out agricultural work with their own agricultural machinery. The average expenses per ha specific to the agricultural works carried out by farmers with their own agricultural machines recorded an average of 376.3 euro/ha for farms with a size smaller than 00 thousand SO and 86.5 euro/ha for farms with a size greater than 700 thousand SO. For a representativeness level of 69.3%, farms with a size smaller than approx. 578 thousand SO register losses if they carry out agricultural work with their own agricultural machines. This threshold can be appreciated on an area of approx. 854 ha cultivated with grain corn, common wheat, and rapeseed in equal proportions. Using the rationales and cost analysis models presented can help farmers make rational investments and strengthen informed demand in the agricultural services market.

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