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financial analysis

Farm Absorption Capacity and Producer Sentiment

If crop prices slip or input costs climb, how much room does your farm have to adjust? Use a three-question scorecard to assess your fixed costs per unit, enterprise mix and balance sheet. Then see how your score compares with responses from 400 producers in the October 2026 Ag Economy Barometer survey.

Convergence of Financial Performance

Do larger crop farms have a financial advantage over smaller operations? FINBIN data from 2007 to 2025 reveal where farm size matters most, and where it doesn’t.

How Much Could Corn Prices Raise Hog Feed Costs in 2027?

Corn prices can have a substantial impact on swine finishing feed costs. Michael Langemeier explains what different corn and soybean meal price scenarios could mean for hog feed costs and margins in 2027.

Liquidity and Repayment Capacity

Purdue analysis of FINBIN data shows how liquidity and repayment capacity have differed across crop farm sizes from 2007 to 2025, with notable changes in the gap between smaller and larger farms.

2026 Trends in Farmland Price to Rent Ratios in Indiana

Indiana farmland values remain elevated relative to the cash rent they generate. Purdue agricultural economist Michael Langemeier examines what the farmland price-to-rent ratio can tell us about land values, future returns and the risks facing buyers.

Comparison of Long-Run Rates of Return for Crop and Livestock Farms

Have crop farms or livestock farms generated better long-run returns? Michael Langemeier compares rates of return for beef, dairy, diversified, and crop farms from 2007–2025, revealing why recent livestock price strength hasn’t translated into a clear long-run advantage.

Impact of Leverage on Rates of Return of Crop Farms

Increasing financial leverage will increase expected returns as long the marginal returns from the use of loans exceed the cost of borrowing. In favorable economic times, higher leverage can improve financial performance and stimulate farm growth. However, in unfavorable economic times, leverage can cause business performance to deteriorate rapidly. Thus, higher leverage may increase expected returns and financial risk.

Conventional and Organic Enterprise Net Returns

Higher prices don’t always guarantee higher profits. New Purdue research examines the tradeoffs between organic and conventional crop production, including yield differences, cost structures, and the factors driving farm-level profitability.

USDA’s First Forecast of the 2026 U.S. Farm Balance Sheet

USDA’s first 2026 Farm Income and Wealth Statistics release provides an early look at the U.S. farm balance sheet heading into the next production cycle. Farm assets and equity are projected to grow at the slowest pace since 2019–2020, while farm debt accumulation accelerates for the third time in four years. Non-real estate assets are expected to decline, driven by reductions in livestock and crop inventories, even as machinery investment continues rising. Key efficiency ratios remain near historic lows, signaling tighter production returns relative to asset values.

Farm Finance Lab: Turn Tax Data into Financial Management Insight

The Farm Finance Lab tool helps producers use Schedule F tax data and balance sheets to quickly generate financial ratios measuring profitability, liquidity, solvency, and financial efficiency. Users can upload documents or enter values manually, explore interactive gauges, and test scenario changes to better understand financial performance. The tool is free to use and does not store any user data.

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