You can't know where you're going unless you know where you stand right now. Just like that, you can't start on saving fuel costs if you don't know how much you're spending now.

If you're not already doing so, a couple of short, simple equations can help you find out exactly how much fuel you're burning for each field operation, getting you one step closer to trimming those costs.

"In managing your farm operation, you’ll want to consider what effect these increases will have on your overall production costs, particularly for farm machinery and specific practices," says University of Nebraska (UNL) Extension educator Tom Dorn. "To answer this question, first estimate fuel consumption for farm operations."

• See more from Dorn, including some detailed year-to-year fuel cost comparisons
• Also: UNL's Nebraska Crop Budgets for 2011
• Get more specific cost numbers from the Minnesota Farm Machinery Economic Cost Estimates