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Saving Money on Weed Control Without Reducing Yields

May 10, 2016

Jim Mintert says, “If you reduce yields because you have poor weed control, you will push your cost per bushel much higher, as much as $3.00 per bushel if you had a 20% drop in yields because of poor weed control.”

Falling Cattle Prices, Where is the Bottom?

May 2, 2016

Cattle prices have had a rough spring. After peaking in late 2014 and early 2015, prices have been adjusting downward from very lofty peaks. High prices and profits at that time provided the incentives to expand beef production.

Feed Cost Indices for a Dairy Cow Enterprise

May 1, 2016

This article discusses recent trends in feed costs for a dairy cow enterprise. A ration consisting of alfalfa, corn silage, corn, soybean meal, and supplements was used to create the feed cost indices.

The Farm Safety Net: The Good and Not So Good

April 28, 2016

This article examined earnings per acre projections for a case farm in west central Indiana. ARC-CO payments were significantly higher under a low price scenario than under a high price scenario.

Reducing Soybean Production Costs by Focusing on Planting Date

April 5, 2016

Purdue Agronomy’s Shaun Casteel and Jim Mintert discuss with Hoosier Ag Today’s Gary Truitt how focusing on early planting can improve soybean yields and reduce soybean farmers cost per bushel in 2016.

Spring 2016 Crop Outlook

April 1, 2016

Recorded April 1, 2016 | A discussion on the revised Crop Outlook in light of new information provided by the USDA’s Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports, both of which were released on March 31, 2016.

Fewer Hogs and Higher Prices

March 13, 2016

The nation’s pork producers have indicated to USDA that they are not expanding the breeding herd and, in fact, intend to reduce farrowings this spring and summer. This means pork supplies will be somewhat less than had been anticipated and that hog prices will be somewhat higher.

Reducing Soybean Production Costs

March 9, 2016

Purdue Agronomy’s Shaun Casteel and Jim Mintert discuss with Hoosier Ag Today’s Gary Truitt how using soybean seeding rates based…

Stress Testing Financial Performance

March 4, 2016

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 purchases, and changes in loan terms.

2016 Crop Cost and Return Guide

March 1, 2016

The Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide offers farmers a resource to project financials for the coming cropping year. These are the March 2016 crop budget estimations.