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Machinery & Facilities

Purdue Farm Management Tour 2026

Two outstanding farms in south-central Indiana will host visitors wanting to learn about farm and crop management on July 10th for the Purdue University Farm Management Tour.

Are Autonomous Farm Machines Economically Ready Yet?

Are autonomous machines financially competitive on today’s farms? Purdue research analyzes the real economics — from labor costs to hardware and subscription fees — and what it will take for autonomy to make sense at scale.

Crop Machinery Investment

Machinery investment benchmarks from 2007–2024 show that large crop farms hold a sizable cost advantage. Operations over 2,000 acres consistently invest less per acre—both in machinery ownership and net annual equipment spending—highlighting meaningful economies of scale. Understanding where your farm fits can help guide machinery planning and long-term cost management.

Machinery Cost Benchmarks for Corn & Soybeans

Benchmark machinery costs for corn and soybean farms and see how expenses differ by farm size and net return category. The article also reviews long-term machinery cost trends from 2007–2024 to help producers assess scale efficiencies and compare their own costs to industry benchmarks.

Trends in General Inflation and Farm Input Prices

Recent data shows that while farm input prices are influenced by general inflation, they often diverge due to distinct supply and demand dynamics for each input. This article explores long-term trends from 1973–2024 and highlights how inputs like labor and machinery tend to track inflation more closely than others like feed or fertilizer.

2025/26 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.

Benchmarking Crop Machinery Cost and Investment

The continued increase in size of tractors, combines, and other machinery has enabled farms to operate more acres and reduce labor use per acre. However, this increase in machinery size also makes it increasingly important to evaluate the efficient use of machinery.

Crop Budget Spreadsheet

This spreadsheet can be used along with the Purdue Crop Cost & Return Guide to examine gross revenue, costs, and earnings for crop enterprises. The user can evaluate up to three full-season crops, and the wheat double-crop soybean system. Updated March 2026.

Ag Lease 101: Lease Publications & Forms from NCFMEC

AgLease101.org helps both land owners and land operators learn about alternative lease arrangements and includes sample written lease agreements for several alternatives. Ag Lease 101 was created by and is maintained by the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee (NCFMEC).

Trends in General Inflation and Farm Input Prices

Most of the recent discussion involving input price changes in U.S. production agriculture has focused on fertilizer prices, which have declined during the last few months. Other inputs have not necessarily experienced this decline in prices.

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Machinery & Facilities

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