Field Capacity & Land Covered Per Hour

Effective field capacity is how much land a machine really covers per hour once real-world losses are counted — turning at headlands, overlap between passes, and stopping to refill seed, fertiliser or fuel. It's lower than the theoretical figure and is the number you should use to plan how long jobs take and what machinery you need.

Theoretical field capacity (ha/h) = speed (km/h) × working width (m) ÷ 10. The ÷10 converts km × m into hectares. For example a 4 m implement at 8 km/h gives 4 × 8 ÷ 10 = 3.2 ha/h in theory — assuming no time lost to turns, overlap or refilling.

Multiply the theoretical capacity by the field efficiency: effective = theoretical × efficiency. Field efficiency is typically 70–85%, accounting for turning, overlap and refilling. So 3.2 ha/h at 80% efficiency gives an effective 2.56 ha/h. The tool does this automatically and also shows the answer in acres per hour.

Field efficiency is the share of time the implement is actually doing useful work in the field rather than turning, overlapping passes or refilling. It commonly runs 70–85% for field operations — seeders and sprayers toward the higher end, jobs with frequent stops lower. The narrower and more frequently refilled the implement, the lower the efficiency.

Multiply hectares per hour by 2.471 (one hectare = 2.471 acres). So an effective 2.56 ha/h is about 6.3 acres/h. The tool reports both units so you can plan in whichever you use locally.

Time (hours) = area ÷ effective field capacity. A 40-hectare field at an effective 2.56 ha/h takes about 15.6 hours of working time. Use this to plan how many machine-hours or days an operation needs and whether you can finish it inside the weather window.

Fuel (litres) = working hours × fuel consumption per hour, and fuel per hectare = total fuel ÷ area. So if the job takes 15.6 hours at 12 L/h, that's about 187 litres, or roughly 4.7 L/ha over 40 ha. The tool computes total fuel and fuel per hectare so you can budget the operation.

It tells you whether a machine can finish an operation within the available window. Match effective capacity to your acreage and the days you have: if a field must be sown or sprayed in three days, you need enough effective ha/h to cover the area in that time. Undersized machinery means missed windows; oversized means idle capital.

Up to a point. A wider implement or higher speed raises both theoretical and effective capacity, but very high speed can hurt work quality — uneven seed placement, poor spray coverage, more soil throw — and may lower field efficiency through more overlap and corrections. Match speed and width to the job, not just to the clock.

They're solid planning figures. Real coverage varies with field shape, headland size, soil and crop conditions, operator skill and how often you refill. Measure your own work rate over a known area when you can, then use the tool to plan future operations and compare machinery options.