{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Center for Commercial Agriculture","provider_url":"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home","author_name":"Sarah E Zahn","author_url":"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home\/author\/smithse\/","title":"The Right Way to Cut Costs - Center for Commercial Agriculture","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"A1Ly89nO0U\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home\/resource\/2025\/12\/the-right-way-to-cut-costs\/\">The Right Way to Cut Costs<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home\/resource\/2025\/12\/the-right-way-to-cut-costs\/embed\/#?secret=A1Ly89nO0U\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;The Right Way to Cut Costs&#8221; &#8212; Center for Commercial Agriculture\" data-secret=\"A1Ly89nO0U\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/ag.purdue.edu\/commercialag\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251223_Langemeier_RightWaytoCutCosts_Table1.jpg","thumbnail_width":2017,"thumbnail_height":1698,"description":"When margins are tight, cutting costs may seem like the obvious response\u2014but not all cost reductions improve profitability. Using recent Ag Economy Barometer survey results and real-world corn production examples, this article explains how marginal analysis can guide smarter input decisions. By comparing marginal benefits to marginal costs, producers can evaluate changes in seeding rates, seed traits, and nitrogen application to determine when cost cuts improve returns\u2014and when they risk reducing profits."}