Top Farmer Conference: January 10, 2025

As one of the most successful and longest-running management programs specifically crafted for farmers, the Purdue Top Farmer Conference is a one-day event for agricultural producers and agribusiness professionals looking to navigate the complexities of today's agricultural landscape. Participants will have the opportunity to network with peers and hear from farm management experts and agricultural economists from Purdue, Farm Credit Services of America, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Acres, a land value data analytics company.

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What You Missed >>

Save the date for next year – Friday, January 10, 2025! If you’re not already on our mailing list, please subscribe to receive updates.

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What You Missed >>

Save the date for next year – Friday, January 10, 2025! If you’re not already on our mailing list, please subscribe to receive updates.

Subscribe for updates

Top Farmer Conference 2024

Overview Slides + Resources Presented Agenda

Overview

Take part in one of the most successful and longest-running management programs geared specifically for farmers — the Purdue Top Farmer Conference, featuring faculty and staff experts from Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. Surrounded by farm management, farm policy, agricultural finance and marketing experts, and a group of your peers, the conference will stimulate your thinking about agriculture’s future and how you can position your farm to be successful in the years ahead.

This year’s conference featured sessions focused on the future of biofuels and soybeans; the status of the new farm bill’s development and the outlook on farm policy and crop insurance decisions in 2024; insight into Federal Reserve policy and the key factors influencing the U.S. economy; what’s in store for corn and soybean prices. The conference concluded with a Q&A panel discussion. Conference video recordings and slide deck presentations are only available to those that registered. All conference registrants received a copy of Scott Irwin’s new book, Back To The Futures, a memoir of growing up on a family farm in Iowa and market primer on commodity futures markets.

Registration for next year’s conference which will be held at Purdue’s Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette on Friday, January 10, 2025, will open in late 2024. If you can’t attend in-person, you can still join us remotely for one of the best conferences of the winter meeting season. Subscribe to the Center’s newsletter to stay up to date on future programs.

Thank you to our Conference Sponsor:

View details on the past 2023 Purdue Top Farmer Conference >>

Slides + Resources Presented

Registered participants can access the video recordings of the conference and a copy of the slides from each presentation on the conference’s learning management website. Usernames and passwords were emailed to registered participants. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email Michelle Query at mquery@purdue.edu.

View The Photos From January 5, 2024 Now! >>

Top Farmer Conference Recaps Available on the Purdue Commercial AgCast:

Dr. Lubben, an extension ag policy specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, navigates the complexities of the current farm bill landscape, detailing challenges faced in 2023 and how we ultimately ended up with a one-year extension of the current legislation. This episode also provides insights into decisions farmers must make in 2024, emphasizing the changing economic landscape’s impact on safety nets and commodity program choices.

Dr. Hart, a professor and crop marketing specialist at Iowa State University, explores the shift to “normalcy” for crop prices and farm incomes in 2024. This episode also provides insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead ranging from the impact of possible drought on USDA projections to projected increases in soybean acres.

Host Brady Brewer discussed the “boom” in renewable diesel and its expected impact on the soybean market with Dr. Scott Irwin, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Illinois. In addition to discussing the renewable diesel market, Dr. Irwin also provides insight into the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market and potential impacts on U.S. agriculture.

Dr. Langemeier and Margaret highlight the relationships between farm growth, producer sentiment, risk preference, managerial ability, farm resilience, and the use of production ag technologies. The episode also touches upon the differences in producer sentiment between the Top Farmer Conference participants and the nationwide Ag Economy Barometer Survey.

Agenda

Download agenda (pdf)

Friday, January 5, 2024
8:00 a.m. (EST)	Registration & Breakfast Come early and enjoy coffee, juice, fruit, pastries and network with colleagues!
9:00 a.m. (EST)	Welcome & Farm Agility Survey James Mintert, Ph.D., Center for Commercial Agriculture Director & Professor of Agricultural Economics Purdue University
9:15 a.m. (EST)	Where is the U.S. Economy Headed? James Bullard, Ph.D. Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business Purdue University James “Jim” Bullard, a noted economist and scholar, served as president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank from 2008 until his appointment as Dean of Purdue's Daniels School of Business in 2023. As a former member of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, Dr. Bullard brings an insider's insight into Federal Reserve policy and the key factors influencing the U.S. economy in the years ahead.
10:15 a.m. (EST)	Networking Break
10:30 a.m. (EST)	Farm Bill Directions & Decisions Brad Lubben, Ph.D. Extension Associate Professor & Policy Specialist Department of Agricultural Economics University of Nebraska-Lincoln Brad Lubben is an expert in federal agricultural and trade policy and has closely followed U.S. farm programs and Farm Bill negotiations for decades. Whether a new farm bill makes it across the finish line or an extension keeps current programs in place for another year, crop producers are expected to face a familiar choice for ARC or PLC in 2024. Lubben will discuss the status of the new farm bill's development, farm program and related crop insurance decisions in 2024, and a broader outlook for farm policy development in the coming year.
11:30 a.m. (EST)	How Agile is Your Farm - Agility Survey Results Michael Langemeier, Ph.D., Center for Commercial Agriculture Associate Director & Professor of Agricultural Economics Purdue University and Margaret Lippsmeyer, Graduate Student, Department of Agricultural Economics This session will help you gauge your ability to deal with strategic risk. Specifically, agility and absorption capacity of farm operators will be compared across conference participants responding to today’s survey and with benchmarks derived from a recent strategic risk survey of agricultural producers.
12:00 p.m. (EST)	Networking Over Lunch
1:00 p.m. (EST)	Biofuels & Soybeans-What Does the Future Look Like? Scott Irwin, Ph.D. Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing University of Illinois Scott Irwin is the author of Back To The Futures a memoir of growing up on a family farm in Iowa and a market primer on commodity futures markets which Scott has studied extensively over the course an academic career that is now in its 5th decade. Dr. Irwin is a globally recognized thought leader in agricultural economics and is one of the nation's foremost researchers focused on the impact of biofuels on commodity markets. Major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, regularly seek Dr. Irwin out for commentary. With over 40,000 followers on social media, he is the most followed agricultural economist in the world.
1:45 p.m. (EST)	Thinking About the Long-Term Outlook for Corn & Soybeans Chad Hart, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Iowa State University One of the nation's top crop outlook economists, Chad Hart is a professor and extension economist at Iowa State University. During his session Dr. Hart will discuss key factors influencing this year's outlook for corn and soybean prices, but with an eye on the longer term view as you make plans for the rest of the decade.
2:30 p.m. (EST)	Networking Break
2:45 p.m. (EST)	Biofuels, Ag Outlook, Ag Policy Q&A Scott Irwin, Chad Hart & Brad Lubben Bring your questions to this freewheeling panel discussion focused on what the future holds for ag policy, biofuels and the outlook for the agricultural economy.
3:45 p.m. (EST)	Conference Concludes Thanks for joining us!

Friday, January 5, 2024

8:00 a.m. (EST)

Registration & Breakfast

Come early and enjoy coffee, juice, fruit, pastries and network with colleagues!

9:00 a.m. (EST)

Welcome & Farm Agility Survey
James Mintert, Ph.D.,
Center for Commercial Agriculture Director &
Professor of Agricultural Economics
Purdue University

9:15 a.m. (EST)

Where is the U.S. Economy Headed?
James Bullard, Ph.D.
Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean
Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business
Purdue University

James “Jim” Bullard, a noted economist and scholar, served as president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank from 2008 until his appointment as Dean of Purdue's Daniels School of Business in 2023. As a former member of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, Dr. Bullard brings an insider's insight into Federal Reserve policy and the key factors influencing the U.S. economy in the years ahead.

10:15 a.m. (EST)

Networking Break

10:30 a.m. (EST)

Farm Bill Directions & Decisions
Brad Lubben, Ph.D.
Extension Associate Professor & Policy Specialist
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Brad Lubben is an expert in federal agricultural and trade policy and has closely followed U.S. farm programs and Farm Bill negotiations for decades. Whether a new farm bill makes it across the finish line or an extension keeps current programs in place for another year, crop producers are expected to face a familiar choice for ARC or PLC in 2024. Lubben will discuss the status of the new farm bill's development, farm program and related crop insurance decisions in 2024, and a broader outlook for farm policy development in the coming year.

11:30 a.m. (EST)

How Agile is Your Farm - Agility Survey Results
Michael Langemeier, Ph.D.,
Center for Commercial Agriculture Associate Director &
Professor of Agricultural Economics
Purdue University and
Margaret Lippsmeyer,
Graduate Student, Department of Agricultural Economics

This session will help you gauge your ability to deal with strategic risk. Specifically, agility and absorption capacity of farm operators will be compared across conference participants responding to today’s survey and with benchmarks derived from a recent strategic risk survey of agricultural producers.

12:00 p.m. (EST)

Networking Over Lunch

1:00 p.m. (EST)

Biofuels & Soybeans-What Does the Future Look Like?
Scott Irwin, Ph.D.
Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing
University of Illinois

Scott Irwin is the author of Back To The Futures a memoir of growing up on a family farm in Iowa and a market primer on commodity futures markets which Scott has studied extensively over the course an academic career that is now in its 5th decade. Dr. Irwin is a globally recognized thought leader in agricultural economics and is one of the nation's foremost researchers focused on the impact of biofuels on commodity markets. Major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, regularly seek Dr. Irwin out for commentary. With over 40,000 followers on social media, he is the most followed agricultural economist in the world.

1:45 p.m. (EST)

Thinking About the Long-Term Outlook for Corn & Soybeans
Chad Hart, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
Iowa State University

One of the nation's top crop outlook economists, Chad Hart is a professor and extension economist at Iowa State University. During his session Dr. Hart will discuss key factors influencing this year's outlook for corn and soybean prices, but with an eye on the longer term view as you make plans for the rest of the decade.

2:30 p.m. (EST)

Networking Break

2:45 p.m. (EST)

Biofuels, Ag Outlook, Ag Policy Q&A
Scott Irwin, Chad Hart & Brad Lubben

Bring your questions to this freewheeling panel discussion focused on what the future holds for ag policy, biofuels and the outlook for the agricultural economy.

3:45 p.m. (EST)

Conference Concludes

Thanks for joining us!

Thank you to our Conference Sponsor:

Speakers