Overlap cost calculator
Every pass that doubles up on the last one applies product twice and adds time in the seat. Put your own numbers in and see what that is worth over a season.
Your setup
The overlap figure is the one to think hardest about — it is what you actually average across a field, not what you aim for.
Time and running cost (optional)
Leave these blank if you only care about the product being double-applied.
Overlap costs you
A$2,493
per season, on the figures above
Double-worked ground
52.2 ha
4.3% more than the field area, every pass
Wasted product
A$2,348
chemical, fertiliser or seed applied twice
Extra time
1 h 12 min
A$145 in machine and operator cost
What a tighter pass is worth
Same field, same season, different average overlap. This is the figure to weigh against the effort of changing how you drive.
| Average overlap | Ground worked twice | Cost per season |
|---|---|---|
| 0.00 m | 0.0% | A$0.00 |
| 0.25 m | 1.1% | A$604 |
| 0.50 m | 2.1% | A$1,220 |
| 1.00 m — yours | 4.3% | A$2,493 |
| 1.50 m | 6.7% | A$3,822 |
| 2.00 m | 9.1% | A$5,212 |
| 3.00 m | 14.3% | A$8,190 |
If the gap between your row and the one above it is small, overlap is not your problem and you should spend the effort elsewhere. This calculator is only worth acting on when the number is big enough to notice.
How the calculation works
The geometry
If your implement is W wide and each pass overlaps the last by O, the effective lane spacing is W minus O. Covering a field at that spacing means the machine physically applies W for every metre travelled, so the area treated is larger than the field by O divided by (W minus O).
A one metre overlap on a 24 metre boom is 4.3% of the field applied twice — the denominator is the 23 metre lane spacing, not the 24 metre boom.
Extra time
Narrower lanes mean more passes to cover the same ground, so the extra distance is thefield area divided by lane spacing, less the same area divided by the full width. Dividing by your working speed turns that into hours, which the hourly figure prices.
What it does not include
Headlands, point rows, odd-shaped corners and re-runs after a blockage all add double-application that this calculation does not see, because it models straight parallel passes. On an irregular field the real figure is higher than the one above.
Gaps, not overlap
Driving too far apart leaves untreated strips instead. That usually costs more than overlap does — a missed strip can mean a re-run, a weed escape or a visible stripe in the crop — but it is a different calculation and this tool does not model it.
Results are estimates from the values you enter. They assume a constant overlap across every pass, which no one achieves exactly. Treat the figure as an order of magnitude for deciding whether overlap is worth attention on your operation, not as an accounting number. Nothing you type is sent anywhere — the inputs stay in this browser.
Seeing overlap while you drive
The hard part is not the arithmetic — it is knowing what your average overlap actually is. AgriPilot paints the worked area onto the map as you drive, so double-covered ground shows up in the cab while there is still time to correct it, and the A/B guidance lines are spaced to your implement width.
See how AgriPilot works