Managing Your Ag Business Webinar and an Announcement

Purdue University is hosting a webinar, "Managing Your Agricultural Business in 2014" on Thursday, December 19, 2:00 p.m. Purdue Economists Chris Hurt, Mike Boehlje, Michael Langemeier and Jim Mintert will lead the webinar and address the following questions. What’s the crop and livestock outlook for 2014? What are the expected returns for corn and soybeans in 2014 and what are the implications for cash rental rates and farmland values? Are there key strategies farm and agribusiness managers should focus on in the year ahead? There is no cost for this program.

For additional information and to register, follow this link: Managing Your Agricultural Business in 2014

Also, for those of you who haven't heard, my last day working in the Clinton County Extension Office will be Friday, December 13. Beginning on Monday, December 16 I will start my new position as Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources and County Extension Director in the Boone County Extension Office in Lebanon.

I've very much enjoyed my last 21 years working in Clinton County and am looking forward to new challenges and opportunities in Boone County. I'd say I'll miss working with Clinton County farmers but Boone County isn't too far away so hopefully I'll still see some of you from time to time.

This blog will continue but with a different title. I expect the content will be similar though with a focus on Boone instead of Clinton County.

2014 Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide Now Available

The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture has released the 2014 Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide, based on September price and cost estimates. This document typically is updated from time to time through the fall but this is a first look at what they expect. The most significant numbers from these are that Purdue is projecting a substantial reduction in the profitability of growing corn next year. For example, rotational corn return has dropped from $660 in 2013 to $491 in 2014 on high productivity soils and from $483 to $345 on average productivity ground. Soybean returns have also dropped but less drastically.

This is important information both as you start planning what to plant next year and in case any of you are involved in renegotiating leases. Keep in mind as you look at these that these are not overall farm budgets, just projected numbers for one aspect of a farm operation; getting a crop planted, harvested and sold. There are substantial ownership and overhead costs not accounted for. In this guide, you will not have paid yourself or included family living expenses. Land costs are not included. Costs of machinery ownership are not included.

This guide is handy for looking at trends and projections but to really assess your operation, you should have a budget for your farm using your numbers.

I'm including three links; to the article discussing the 2014 guide, to the 2014 guide, and to the 2013 guide if you want to use it for comparison.

Purdue Article on 2014 Guide

2014 Guide

2013 Guide

Input Costs Down for 2014?

I want to share a news release from the Purdue Ag Economics Department. In it, Alan Miller discusses the prospect for reduced input costs for the 2014 crop year. As has been the trend, with lower commodity prices comes some reduction of inputs. In particular fertilizer costs are down and Miller believes these may continue to drop. Fuel costs should also be down so long as the Middle East is relatively calm.

Of course this isn't true for everything. Pesticide and seed costs look to stay flat or slightly increase and the latest Purdue Cash Rent and Land Values Survey shows no sign of a reduction in the cost of land in the short term.

See the following link for the complete article: 2013 A Transition Year for Grain Farmers

2013 Indiana Farm Management Tour

I apologize for not adding anything new in some time. I'm hoping to get back to more regular posting in the near future.

For those who aren't aware, Clinton County is hosting the 2013 Indiana Farm Management Tour. We have five excellent host farms. These represent a wide variety of Clinton County Agriculture. There is no cost to attend however you need to register so we have a meal count. For additional information on the tour and to register go to: The Purdue Ag Economics Department's Farm Tour Page.

Purdue Farm Management Tour

The 2012 Purdue Farm Management Tour will be held on June 20-21 in Marshall County. This is fairly close to us this year and I'd encourage you to think about going if you can work it out. I've been a couple of times (I'm teaching GIS at a summer youth camp then and can't go this year) and it's a great way to find out what other people are doing and do some brain-picking.

You can find additional information at the Purdue Farm Management Tour page. Right now you'll mainly find the program flyer there but a detailed agenda, farm descriptions, etc., will be available soon.

2011 Purdue Farm Management Tour

The 2011 Indiana Farm Management Tour will be held on June 28 and 29 in Southern Indiana, in Daviess, Knox and Sullivan Counties.

You can find additional program information including a link to registration at: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/commercialag/progevents/tour.html

The complete program is listed below:

Purdue Farm Management Tour

The public is invited. All times are (EDT). Pre-registration is required to participate in either or both sponsored lunches at the Unger and Villwock Farms. There is no fee for the tour. Pre-register at: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/extension/programs/farm_tour.asp, or call 765-482-0750 or 1-888-EXT-INFO by Tuesday June 14. Separate registration is required for the Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet described in item 3 below. A fee of $20 will apply to the banquet

1) Del Unger Farms – Sponsored Lunch at Noon – Family Interview at 1:00 p.m. – Mini-tours at 1:30 p.m. on maximizing planter performance, fine-tuning nutrients with plant tissue testing and foliar fertilization, and enhancing land owner/tenant relationships through leasing options.

Del Unger Farms grows corn, wheat, double-crop corn, double-crop soybeans, seed soybeans, sweet corn, and green beans with a high-output production approach that includes site-specific management with variable rate applications, foliar nutrient and fungicide applications, and irrigation scheduling. By maximizing output, they aim to minimize costs on a unit-of-production basis. They also operate a cow-calf operation on some of their rolling land. Del and Tammi began farming together not long after they met at Purdue. As the operation has expanded in size and complexity, they have organized into several functional units that involve various combinations of owners, equipment, and land to manage risk and pave the way for the farm’s passage to their two children.

2) Melon Acres – Interview at 3:00 p.m. – Mini-tours at 3:30 p.m. on packing shed management and management of a large seasonal workforce.

Southwest Indiana is home to many melon growers, but few have achieved the scale of production that Melon Acres has. In their highly diversified operation, the Horralls grow hand-picked produce on 1,000 acres and cash grains and green beans for processing on 1,500 acres. A first-mover in technological investments such as forced air cooling and their asparagus, cantaloupe, and watermelon packing lines, Melon Acres has invested heavily in produce-packing technologies. Moreover, because all of the produce is hand-picked, they need 250 seasonal workers for whom Melon Acres provides housing and meals. The Horrall family’s long-term succession planning efforts have made it possible to welcome back third generation family members.

3) Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet –

The reception starts at 5:00 p.m. in Vincennes University’s John Deere Building at the Southwest Purdue Ag Center followed by dinner program. E-mail debby@purdue.edu at the Purdue Ag Alumni Association, or call 765-494-8593 to register.

Wednesday June 29, 2011

4) T. S. Boyd Grain – Interview at 8:00 a.m. – Mini-tours at 8:30 a.m. on high yield continuous corn technologies and machinery trading strategies.

T. S. Boyd Grain is a 7,500 acre farm operated by Tom and Marsha Boyd, their son Trent and his wife Kim. The farm produces continuous corn, popcorn, wheat, double-crop soybeans, single-crop soybeans, and earlage. They have 4,700 acres in continuous corn with yields of 200+ bushels per acre. They have over 20 years of experience with continuous corn. You will learn about the high-yield technology they use. Popcorn and earlage are two specialized crops. Their relationships with employees, lenders, landlords, and technical advisors are a key to their success. You will learn how they have successfully grown the farm while also building a 100+ truck freight and warehousing business and operating two grain elevators. Finally, you will see how they manage such a large and diverse set of businesses.

5) Carnahan & Sons – Interview at 10:00 a.m. – Mini-tours on the farm’s quarter horse venture and prescription farming practices at 10:30 a.m.

Change is a key management feature of Carnahan & Sons, Inc. Some of the changes can be easily spotted. Other changes (probably the more important changes) are less visible. Our visit to this farm offers a chance to learn about changes they have made, changes they are planning, and reasons behind the changes. This stop provides a study in shared management, a management organization focused on helping members of the management team succeed and empowering them to make decisions while enjoying their work. For horse lovers, this will be an opportunity to learn more about breeding and training.

6) Villwock Farms – Sponsored Lunch at Noon –Agricultural Outlook Update by Dr. Chris Hurt at 12:45 p.m. – Villwock Farms interview at 1:30 p.m. –Mini-tours of Villwock Farms at 2:15 p.m.

The opportunity to start over to design your farmstead from scratch doesn’t come along very often. Having lost their Hoosier Homestead (1907-2007) farm to the threat of eminent domain in 2007-2008, the Villwocks have experienced the ups and downs of designing a new farmstead. Learn about their strategies for navigating the process and designing a facility from scratch and their efforts to ensure that key management practices prevail regardless of geography. In addition, the long-term viability of Villwock Farms appears tied to a future succession plan involving their current farm manager, a process they are already working to address. You will have the opportunity to tour the antique tractor barn, shop, and other features of the new farmstead. Or you may choose to participate in an optional mini-tour of the grain handling and chemical storage facilities, which are located on a nearby farm. You will also learn about grain drying energy audits on this optional mini-tour.