May 24, 2024

Managing Strategic Risks on Your Farm

by Michael Langemeier, Brady Brewer, and James Mintert

We’ve recorded a series of short podcasts and accompanying videos to help agricultural producers improve their strategic risk management skills. Farms are exposed to strategic risks that are caused by a wide variety of unanticipated shocks to the operating environment ranging from government policy shifts to disease outbreaks. Although it’s not possible to accurately forecast strategic risks, it is possible to position your farm business such that you can successfully navigate the risks that might occur. After listening to this podcast series, you’ll learn more about strategic risk, what you can do to help mitigate your farm’s strategic risk exposure, and how you can position your farm to not only survive but actually thrive in a risky world.

ARTICLES WITHIN PUBLICATION:

Importance of Managing Strategic Risk

May 24, 2024

Dig into strategic risk management for farm businesses as we discuss what strategic risks are and how to start thinking about your farm’s ability to withstand shocks. This is the first episode in a series focused on helping ag producers learn to manage strategic risks.

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The Impact of Strategic Risks

May 31, 2024

In the second episode of the strategic risk series, the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture’s James Mintert, Michael Langemeier, and Brady Brewer provide examples of strategic risks and discuss ways agricultural producers can make their farm operation more resilient to strategic risks.

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Improving Your Strategic Risk Plan

June 7, 2024

In the third episode of the strategic risk series, the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture’s team of ag economists, James Mintert, Michael Langemeier, and Brady Brewer discuss the tradeoff between improving efficiency and resilience of the farm business.

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RELATED RESOURCES

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Purdue Flexible Lease Workshop

September 16 at 7 pm or September 23 at 9 am

The Flexible Lease virtual Workshop, presented by the Purdue Extension Land Lease Team, will include a presentation and discussion to help you decide if a flexible land lease arrangement is right for your farm.

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2025 Farmland Values & Market Trends

September 9, 2025

Purdue ag economists Todd Kuethe and Michael Langemeier as they discuss Indiana farmland values on this, the first of two episodes reviewing the 2025 Purdue Farmland Values and Cash Rental Rates survey results. The survey shows Indiana land prices continue to rise and are anticipated to continue a modest increase for the rest of 2025 for most of the state.

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Farmland Prices Increase Despite Downward Pressure, Purdue Ag Econ Report August 2025

August 19, 2025

Indiana farmland prices have continued the trend of record highs in 2025, according to the latest Purdue Farmland Value and Cash Rents Survey results. The average price of top-quality farmland reached $14,826 per acre, a 3.0% increase from June 2024. Statewide, cash rents increased from 1.5 to 1.7% for poor-, average-, and top-quality land.

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2025 Indiana Farm Custom Rates

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The rates reported in this publication were compiled from questionnaires received from farmers, farm owners, farm custom operators, and professional farm managers in Indiana during the last month of 2024 and the first three months of 2025. Respondents were asked to report custom rates they had either paid or received during the past year.

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