Insights
You want your farm to perform as efficiently and successfully as possible and that means managing risk. Our collection of resources will help you more successfully minimize risk. Our expert commercial agriculture faculty have developed these resources based on research and real-world scenarios.
Need something more? Let us know. The faculty and staff at Purdue's Center for Commercial Agriculture are here to help. Call us at 765-494-7004 or email us at comagctr@purdue.edu.
Farm Basis Tool
Click here to use the Crop Basis Tool. The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture’s Crop Basis Tool can be used to examine weekly nearby and deferred basis for corn and soybeans in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Daily cash price data from individual grain elevators and processors are averaged within each crop reporting district to create…
VIDEO: Managing Risk: A Conversation with Kirkpatrick Farms
Kirkpatrick Farm operators Bryan and Susan Kirkpatrick and their daughter Andrea, raise food-grade corn and seed soybeans with an emphasis on improving the productivity of their land. They also run a seed warehouse for local distribution.
VIDEO: Managing Risk: A Conversation with Maple Farms
Since 1975, Maple Farms has primarily grown food-grade corn and seed soybeans. This family partnership is devoted to high-quality agricultural production with an emphasis on cooperative management and supporting the growing family.
VIDEO: Risk Management: A Conversation with Mylet Farms
The Mylet farm has been in the family for more than 150 years and is currently operated by Tom and Neal Mylet, along with other family members. Their focus is on efficiency and innovation. Neal also is the principal behind a startup technology company.
VIDEO: Managing Risks: A Conversation with Scott Farms
Scott Farms is a diversified crop farm. Operators include Brian, John, and Robert. Crops produced include corn, waxy corn, popcorn, soybeans, and seed soybeans. Scott Farms uses specialty crops to enhance profitability and mitigate risk.
Evaluating Strategic Options
Today’s business climate for farmers is fraught with uncertainty. Making smart long-run strategic decisions in this business climate is difficult. When the future is so uncertain, one is tempted to just hope for the best. However, don’t ever forget, hope is rarely a good strategy.
Assessing and Managing Strategic Risk
Strategic risk involves the sensitivity of the farm’s strategic direction and vulnerability and sustainability of the farm to uncertainties in the business climate. Recognizing the increasing importance, this article discusses the assessment and management of strategic risk.
An Update on the Farm Safety Net
In an earlier article (farmdoc daily, April 28, 2016), we projected earnings for a case farm in west central Indiana, and examined the sensitivity of earnings and farm program payments to changes in price and yield. Using base corn and soybean prices of $3.75 and $8.73, projected […]
Stress Testing Financial Performance
Stress testing describes a range of techniques that can be used to access the vulnerability of a firm’s balance sheet and income statement to changes in prices, production, or financing. Stress testing can be an extremely useful tool when evaluating strategies for dealing with lower prices, higher costs, asset […]
Balancing Business and Financial Risk
Total risk can be divided into two major categories: business risk and financial risk. Business risk involves the variability of the farm’s return to assets. Business risk arises from variability in production levels (e.g., yield variability), output prices (e.g., corn price variability), and input prices […]