PERC for Custom Operators
Agricultural units designed for use in fields, groves, etc. in rural applications by independent owner/operators
-
A Custom Operator is someone in business to do burrowing rodent control for farmers and others.
-
Usually, custom operators charge by the hour.
-
Typical units used by custom operators are the PERC 412 and PERC 620.
Very interesting comment by a custom operator in Eastern Oregon: "The custom gopher business is what is paying the bills!" Like many businesses as well as farming, he was severely stretched to pay his bills. The gopher control business he set up last fall has brought in the cash that keeps their operation afloat.
Rules of thumb for "What unit do I need?"
We are in the process of offering 300' reels for the 206 and the 412. These are targeted for the pest control industry, an area in which we are just getting started marketing. The profits from treating urban yards are astounding. A skid mounted 412 is on the drawing board and looks to be popular to set in a small pickup for pest control businesses.
I recently did a time cost production analysis for a customer in helping him decide what unit to buy for his acreage.
This is a difficult problem for those that would max out a 206 but have minimal acreage for a 412. And of course the same is true with the 412 compared to the 620.
Working with several custom operators we have come up with the mounds per acre in a gopher infested field that would constitute a fairly mild infestation. We determined that 20 to 25 mounds per acre will allow an operator using the PERC 412 to treat from 3 to 3 1/2 acres an hour. Thus, if there were 40 mounds per acre, you could expect to treat about 1-1/2 acres an hour with the 412 and so on.
The math does not match the actual holes probed, but the time in the field did. The actual math would indicate that at 2 minutes per probed hole, you could do 30 holes per hour per probe or 120 holes per hour. Not possible; you are moving from one hole to the next, moving the ATV and PERC unit forward to a new set of holes, so bottom line is about 60 to 75 holes per hour. Also depends on terrain, operator and moon placement!!
The 620 can cover about about 1.7 times the area covered by the 412 in any given time frame. The real advantage to the 620 is that it has 40,000 ppm of CO in the exhaust gas while the 412 has about 25,000 PPM of CO. The 206 tests at 20,000 ppm of CO.
The determining factor is cost per acre of the machine, labor availability and of course availability of capital. Most farmers have shown that they can justify the capital purchase of their PERC unit when the per acre cost of the machine is between $ 10 and $ 40. Getting the dirt out of the hay, reductions of breakdowns in the field from gopher mounds and a faster, smoother harvest are factors used when justifying the cost of the machine.
Consequently, the recommended acreages for each machine are as follows:
206 and the 206T up to 200 acres
412 200 to 1,000 acres
620 1,000 to 2,000 acres (custom operators and large operations that can have a full time operator can cover up to about 3,000 acres in a 12 month time frame weather permitting.)
Watch for more information on this page soon!
