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Livestock Disaster Programs

April 18, 2014

This article briefly discusses the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Related Fish (ELAP) disaster programs. The discussion will focus on the provisions of the disaster programs that are most applicable to farmers in the Midwest.

Purchasing and Leasing Farm Equipment

March 8, 2014

This publication by the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee provides background information about purchasing, renting, and leasing farm machinery.

Equipment Lease Analyzer

March 5, 2014

This University of Missouri equipment lease analyzer is designed to answer 2 questions regarding leasing farm equipment. First it seeks to determine whether a lease or a purchase is more profitable and feasible from a cash flow perspective. Second it helps decide the annual contract hours for a lease.

2014 Crop Cost and Return Guide

March 1, 2014

The Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide offers farmers a resource to project financials for the coming cropping year. These are the March 2014 crop budget estimations.

Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Program

January 6, 2014

Price Loss Coverage (PLC) is a new program in the 2014 Farm Bill. PLC payments are made when the national marketing year average (MYA) price falls below a legislated reference price for the commodity.

Commodity Program Primer

January 6, 2014

The 2014 Farm Bill has completely overhauled the U.S. crop commodity payment system. Direct payment, counter-cyclical payment, and ACRE (average crop revenue election) payment programs have all been eliminated.

Agriculture Risk Coverage-Individual (ARC-IC)

January 6, 2014

The ARC-IC calculation depends on three measures of revenue defined on the first page. The ARC-IC payment is unique in the current farm bill for its use of planted acreage in determining the level of payment received. The ARC-IC is also unique in that it only allows for payments on 65% of a farm’s base acres.

Farmland: Is it Currently Priced as an Attractive Investment?

January 1, 2014

Farmland comprises the vast majority of farmers’ asset base and personal wealth; USDA balance sheet data indicate that farmland accounts for approximately 85% of the value of the total assets in production agriculture (USDA-ERS). This percentage has been increasing during the past decade in large part because of the dramatic increase in farmland prices.

Managing Risk in Your Farm Business

January 1, 2014

Most people working in agriculture are in the business of commodities. And in the long run, in a commodity business, it’s crucial to be a low-cost producer. Here are some practical ways that you can start lowering your costs today.