Field Capacity & Land Covered Per Hour
Covers hectares
Enter implement width, speed and field efficiency to get effective field capacity in ha/h and acres/h, the hours to cover a field, and the fuel it burns — so you can size machinery to your acreage.
Enter the machine
Next: to cover more per hour, increase working width or speed (within agronomic limits) or cut downtime; check the machine finishes timely operations within your weather window.
Theoretical = speed × width ÷ 10; field efficiency 70–85% typical; very high speeds can hurt work quality.
Field capacity — key facts
- Theoretical ha/h
- speed (km/h) × width (m) ÷ 10
- Effective ha/h
- theoretical × field efficiency
- Field efficiency
- 70–85% typical
- Acres/h
- ha/h × 2.471
- Time for field
- area ÷ effective capacity
- Fuel
- hours × consumption per hour
- Sizing
- match capacity to acreage & window
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Will the machine finish before the window closes?
Every field operation races a weather window, and the question that decides it is simple: how much land does this machine really cover in an hour? The theoretical answer is just speed × working width ÷ 10 in hectares per hour — but real work loses time to turning at the headlands, overlapping passes and stopping to refill. Multiplying by a field efficiency of about 70–85% gives the effective capacity, the figure that actually predicts how long a job takes.
This tool reports theoretical and effective ha/h, acres per hour, the hours to cover your field, and the fuel burned — in litres and per hectare. Use it to size machinery to your acreage, plan operations inside the window, and compare a wider implement or a faster pass. Remember a higher width or speed lifts capacity, but very high speed can hurt work quality. Pair it with the Machinery Cost and Tractor Fuel Cost tools to cost the whole operation.
Know your real work rate
Effective ha/h and acres/h, not just theory.
Plan within the window
See the hours to cover the whole field.
Size the machinery
Match capacity to acreage and the days you have.
Budget the fuel
Litres for the job and fuel per hectare.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is effective field capacity?+
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.
How is theoretical field capacity calculated?+
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.
How do I convert theoretical to effective capacity?+
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.
What is field efficiency and what's typical?+
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.
How do I convert ha/h to acres/h?+
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.
How long will it take to cover a field?+
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.
How much fuel will the operation use?+
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.
Why does field capacity matter for sizing machinery?+
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.
Does going faster always cover more ground?+
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.
Are these results exact?+
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.