You're viewing a specific archive. Looking for something and want to search by keyword or just take a general look at ALL our resources? Click Search below!
Search our entire resource library
Resources
Adding a family member or employee to a farm is a long-term financial decision. These slides and self-assessment tools help evaluate financial feasibility, strategic risk, and business resilience before expanding labor.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAdaptability and strong relationships are becoming essential in today’s farm economy. This Purdue Commercial AgCast episode continues the Top Farmer Conference discussion on long-term market outlooks and farm strategy.
Read MoreCorn and soybean basis levels have improved across much of the Eastern Corn Belt in early 2026, though large regional differences remain. Learn what’s driving basis strength—and how to track your local opportunities using Purdue’s Crop Basis Tool.
Read MoreMichael Langemeier presented at the Fort Wayne Farm Show on January 14, 2026, on crop net returns prospects and the farmland market.
Read MoreIn December, the Center for Commercial Agriculture launched Trends in the U.S. Farm Balance Sheet, a new interactive data visualization built on USDA Economic Research Service farm income and wealth statistics. The tool highlights long-run trends in farm assets, debt, and equity—allowing users to explore changes by asset type, debt category, and lender, while also tracking key financial ratios over time. State-level farm real estate values are mapped, and every chart and dataset can be downloaded for further analysis. As balance sheet conditions continue to evolve, this tool provides a clear, data-driven way to monitor financial strength across U.S. agriculture.
Read MoreThe Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture welcomed over 200 farmers and agribusiness professionals to the 2026 Purdue Top Farmer Conference on Friday, January 9th. The annual farm management conference provided a great networking opportunity for top producers and industry professionals. View photos from the event now.
Read MoreFINBIN data from 2007–2024 show that larger crop farms use significantly fewer labor hours per acre and achieve higher labor efficiency, highlighting clear economies of scale in labor use.
Read MoreNovember brought the highest farmer sentiment reading since June, with the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer jumping 10 points from October to 139. The increase was driven primarily by producers’ more optimistic outlook for the future. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier review the results from the November Ag Economy Barometer and give their insights into farmer sentiment and the farm economy.
Read MoreTight margins often trigger cost-cutting decisions, but not all cuts improve profitability. This article explains how marginal analysis can help producers evaluate fertilizer, seed, and seeding rate decisions to protect returns when prices are low.
Read More