The Cost of Producing Wheat in Five Regions of North America and Europe

The paper compiles the on-farm costs associated with producing a tonne of wheat for each year between 1970 and 1989 for five wheat growing regions, namely; the brown soil zone of Saskatchewan, Canada, northwestern North Dakota, U.S.A., East Anglia of England, the Borde region south east of Hannover, Germany, and the Paris Basin of France. The costs include direct cash costs and allocated costs. The only costs not included are an allowance for the operator’s management and risk taking. The costs have also been adjusted for inflation in the originating country and converted to Canadian dollars. The results indicate that over the twenty years between 1970 and 1989 the lowest cost wheat producing regions have shifted from Saskatchewan and North Dakota to East Anglia and the Paris Basin primarily due to increasing European yields and decreasing yields in Saskatchewan and North Dakota.