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Crops

Flexible Cash Lease Parameters

Explore how different lease types—from crop share to flexible cash leases—impact risk and returns for both landowners and tenants. This analysis uses real Indiana data to compare a fixed cash rent lease, a crop share lease, and eight flexible cash lease arrangements, helping you evaluate which structure fits your farm’s goals. Flex leases with base rent and bonuses are gaining traction—see why they may be a smart alternative to fixed cash rent.

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Soybean Basis Recovers from Sharp Decreases in June

At the time of our last basis update in the second week of June, the regional soybean basis was highly volatile. This volatility was driven by sharp decreases in basis at soybean processors in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. As June continued, the sharp decrease in soybean basis continued and spread across the entire Eastern Corn Belt. However, as we have progressed through July, much of the basis decrease has been recovered.

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Corn Basis Continues to Improve as Soybean Basis Varies

As July futures near expiration, corn basis across the Eastern Corn Belt continues to strengthen. In Central Ohio, the basis has improved by $0.12/bu over the past three weeks to $0.26/bu, reaching a ten-year high for the second week of June.

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Trends of Increasing Basis Continue Across the Eastern Corn Belt

Corn and soybean basis levels across the Eastern Corn Belt have strengthened for the second month in a row, with many locations now reporting a positive basis—especially at ethanol plants, soybean processors, and Ohio River terminals. Central Indiana and regional trends show basis levels outpacing historical averages, creating timely opportunities for improved grain marketing. Stay ahead of local trends with the Purdue Crop Basis Tool.

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Changes in Corn and Soybean Profitability (Dec ’24 – Apr ’25)

Profitability expectations for corn and soybeans in Indiana have shifted sharply in recent months, driven primarily by changing crop prices and updated USDA yield estimates. Learn why soybeans continue to show a strong net return advantage—even as tariffs, market volatility, and evolving policy developments reshape the outlook—by diving into our month-by-month breakdown of budget projections from December through April.

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2025 Indiana Farm Custom Rates

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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Buying Inputs in the Current Business Climate

Grain farmers are facing significantly lower crop prices and incomes in 2025 compared to previous years which have resulted in intense pressure to lower costs through negotiations on cash rents and purchased inputs. Much of this negotiation has focused on price – farmers are asking for price reductions, but suppliers of fertilizer, seed, and chemicals are hesitant to adjust prices down. In many cases suppliers have laid in inventories at costs that provide little flexibility to reduce prices without dramatically compressing their margins.

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2025 Crop Cost and Return Guide

The Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide offers farmers a resource to project financials for the coming cropping year. These are the March 2025 crop budget estimations for 2025.

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Corn and Soybean Basis Strengthen Across the Midwest Amidst Decreasing Prices

Between February 12th and March 12th, the markets for corn and soybeans significantly changed. As market prices have dropped, corn and soybean basis across the Midwest have strengthened. The basis strengthening is a welcomed change following over 2 months of weakening or unchanging basis. The falling market prices have decreased the value of uncontracted stored grain. Stored grain hedged through futures markets has increased in value over the last month as the basis has strengthened.

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February Indiana Crop Basis Update & Using the Crop Basis Tool to Plan Storage Hedges

Since the beginning of December, corn and soybean basis across Indiana have generally been stable. Over the 10 weeks, most basis levels stayed within a $0.10/bu. range.

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