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Becoming a “Best in Class” Farm

Corn Belt agriculture is in the midst of transitioning from one of the most profitable periods on record to what could be an extended period of tight margins for most corn and soybean operations. Now that the 2015 planting season is drawing to a close, you should take time to reevaluate your farming operation and consider how you can make sure your farm is strategically positioned to be a “best in class” operation in the years ahead. Doing so will help ensure that your farm will thrive, not just survive, in an era of tight operating margins.

Lower Pork Costs Also Driven by Lower Meal Costs

Soybean meal is an important but an “economically” secondary feed ingredient in hog diets compared to corn. My estimates suggest that soybean meal costs have been about 22 percent of the total costs of raising hogs over the past decade, compared to 32 percent for corn.

Beef Herd Expanding Quickly, But Will It Continue?

The nation’s beef cow herd has started down the path of the largest expansion in 25 years. The last major expansion was from 1990 to 1995 when the herd grew by ten percent.

Where Are Indiana Farmland Values Headed?

Recorded August 7, 2015 | Results from the June 2015 Purdue Farmland Values Survey including average farmland and cash rental value estimates for the state of Indiana and key cropping regions within the state.

Evaluating Your Farmland Rental “Options”

Gross revenues for most Indiana corn and soybean farms reached unprecedented levels during 2006 through 2013, but declined sharply in 2014 and 2015. The revenue decline, which will be exacerbated on many Indiana farms by yield reductions caused by this spring and summer’s excessive rainfall, is putting tremendous pressure on operating margins.

Higher Feed Costs Could Mean Pork Industry Losses

Weather damaged corn and soybean fields are also harmful to hog producers. Rising feed prices mean higher costs of production for the pork industry. Recent higher corn and soybean meal prices have increased anticipated hog costs by about $10 per head.

Crop Outlook and Management Strategy​​

Recorded July 1, 2015 | A review of the fundamental drivers of crop prices and updated management recommendations in light of shifting crop conditions.

Pork Industry Continues to Adjust from PED

The pork industry continues to adjust from the supply shock created by the PED virus last year. Live prices peaked in the summer of 2014 as PED losses mounted and then fell into the late winter of 2015.

Strategic Positioning: Focus vs. Flexibility

The mantra of almost all strategic planning discussions and recommendations is that a company cannot be all things to all people – – it must be focused in its choice of customers and how it will create value for those customers.

Strategic Decisions: You Can’t Always Be Right

No matter how well informed you are, how careful you have been in specifying the problem, how much data and information you have collected, how systematic you have been in the decision process, it is possible you will make a mistake – a wrong choice.

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