Drainage Payback Calculator
Would tile drainage pay for itself on your wet fields? Pick the spacing your soil needs and how waterlogged the area really is, and see the installation cost, the annual benefit, and roughly how many years to payback. Every preset comes from our published drainage model and every one is adjustable.
The area to drain
The waterlogged area, not the whole farm
Output value net of harvest, drying and handling. Our maize example works out to €960/ha (8 t × €120/t net).
Drain spacing your soil needs
Heavier soil needs closer drains and costs more per hectare. Ranges are our published 2025–2026 installed costs for 20+ ha jobs.
Preset from the spacing class — replace with your contractor's quote. Larger jobs often come in 20–30% cheaper per hectare.
How waterlogged is the area?
Yield-response bands from our drainage model. The wetter the baseline, the bigger the response — and the honest answer is a band, not a number.
Preset mid-band — adjust to what your yield maps say
Secondary benefits (optional)
Off by default — these are modest, harder-to-bank additions on top of the yield case, not the reason to invest.
Earlier field access & timely operations
Article example: €1,500/yr on 25 ha for earlier planting (3–7 days) and flexible spray/harvest windows
Reduced nitrogen losses in wet years
Article example: €800/yr on 25 ha from better root development and reduced denitrification