Manual cotton picking versus machine picking, which one has better economic benefits?

By comparing with manual picking, we believe that machine-picked cotton has obvious advantages in terms of picking input costs and comprehensive economic benefits.

1. Average comprehensive cost composition of machine-picked cotton

1. Actual mechanical picking cost: 0.46 yuan/kg of seed cotton

The cotton picker operation charges 125 yuan per mu, and the average cotton yield per unit area is 350 kilograms of seed cotton. The higher the yield, the lower the picking cost per kilogram.

2. Defoliation chemicals and mechanical operation costs: 0.05 yuan/kg of seed cotton

3. Increased cost of machine-picked cotton cleaning and processing: 0.221 yuan/kg of seed cotton (related to the quantity of machine-picked cotton and processed seed cotton. The greater the processing volume, the lower the additional cost of processing per kilogram. Calculated based on the current increase of 300 yuan for 1 ton of high processing )

4. The sales downgrade of machine-picked cotton is generally 2 levels lower than that of hand-picked cotton. We calculate based on an average of 3 levels lower. The sales price of lint cotton is reduced by 600 yuan/ton, which is equivalent to a price reduction of 0.222 yuan per kilogram of seed cotton. /kg

The total of the above four items: 0.843 yuan/kg of seed cotton

2. Actual costs of manual picking

The average picking fee for manual picking of seed cotton is 2 yuan per kilogram.

3. Comparison of economic benefits between machine-picked cotton and hand-picked cotton

Manually picked cotton is 2 yuan/kg, compared with 0.84 yuan/kg of machine picked cotton. The comprehensive cost of mechanical picking is 1.16 yuan/kg lower than manual picking. The comprehensive economic benefit advantage is still very obvious.

IV. Current promotion of machine-picked cotton technology

Existing technical problems need to be solved

Manual picking will handle the cotton grade very carefully, which is unmatched by cotton picking machines. “What’s the problem with the promotion of cotton picking machines? It’s that when you pick flowers manually, the grade of cotton is very easy to distinguish.

For example, for first-level flowers and second-level flowers, he can distinguish this level, but when the cotton picker passes by, all your cotton and leaves will be swallowed up, and it will enter the machine at once, and then separate the leaves. It becomes cotton, so what will happen to the grading standards?The changes are not the same as handmade cotton. ”

There is also the problem of waste mulch film being mixed into organically picked cotton, which is a fatal factor affecting the grade and sales price of machine-picked cotton. Moreover, some cotton cleaning and processing techniques are not perfect and the equipment is not matched, resulting in machine-picked lint cotton not meeting the expected standards.

5. Comprehensive benefit evaluation of the promotion of machine-picked cotton technology

(1) Significant economic benefits will help increase farmers’ income.

1. The management quota is further increased. Based on the calculation of 100 acres per household, the unit yield is 400 kilograms. The implementation of machine-picked cotton can save 1.16 yuan per kilogram. According to the cost calculation, each machine-picked one acre can save 464 yuan. 100 acres can save costs. The cost is 46,400 yuan.

2. The establishment of the production model provides guarantee for further expanding the labor management area, and the comprehensive production cost can be further reduced, thus increasing the competitiveness of cotton in the market. It solves the problem of high cotton yield but poor harvest, or loss and waste due to manual harvesting.

(2) It can ensure the smooth completion of cotton planting and picking, improve work efficiency and reduce labor intensity.

A 5-row cotton picking machine has a daily working efficiency of more than 150 acres, and a 6-row cotton picking machine has a daily working efficiency of 200 acres, which is equivalent to at least 750-1,000 people. It saves the trouble of manual food, accommodation, transportation and other links, improves the working environment and reduces the cost of labor. The labor intensity is reduced, the scientific and technological content is improved, and the cotton planting is guaranteed, especially without being affected by the number of labor workers.

(3) Reduce labor intensity and improve technological content

The traditional manual flower picking method is inefficient, has a large demand for live labor, and has the basic characteristics of prominent periodic labor conflicts, resulting in high production costs, which tend to increase every year, and also bring a large number of social burdens and other problems.

Most migrant workers come to farms to pick flowers because of the pressure of their own lives. This uncertainty and instability of labor resources, coupled with the fact that people from other industries in the group field participate in short-term flower picking, affect the division of labor and social development. The normal economic order also forces us to consider abandoning the traditional cotton harvesting method and using high-efficiency and high-reliability machine-picked cotton to solve the above problems.

(4) Be able to reasonably arrange the treatment of the land surface and winter irrigation and plowing work after picking up flowers

Manual flower picking starts early and ends late, making it difficult to proceed to the next step early.At this stage of plowing work, winter plowing and other operations often have to be terminated when the ground has become frozen. The massive damage and accelerated wear and tear of machinery and equipment has caused serious losses to agricultural machinery owners.

This is not the case with machine-picked cotton. Once machine-picked cotton is started, cotton field contractors only need one busy day to arrange field clearing and winter plowing and winter irrigation work. After the machine mining is over, the winter plowing work is basically over. A large number of cotton field contract workers will have time and energy to enter activities such as the courtyard economy as early as possible and create more value.

(5) Improving the overall quality of cotton farmers and adjusting the agricultural production structure

The application and promotion of mechanized technology throughout the cotton planting process can effectively promote the enthusiasm of cotton farmers to learn science and technology and improve the overall quality of cotton farmers. At the same time, as the degree of application of mechanization increases, the labor force in cotton production can be reduced, forcing the labor force to transfer to the secondary and tertiary industries, which is conducive to the adjustment of the agricultural production structure and accelerates the economic prosperity of agricultural areas and the pace of urbanization.