For 2021, estimates show U.S. farmers are planting over 92 million acres of corn and over 90 million acres of soybeans this year. By sheer volume, these two crops continue to be farmer’s top commodities.
Have you stopped to think what’s next for your operation?
What comes after corn? What follows soybeans? Is your company’s product going to remain relevant and profitable in the years to come?
Diversify Small
When it comes to diversifying your income, limit your risk by starting small, says Jayson Lusk, Purdue University’s department head of Agricultural Economics.
In an hour-long presentation all about the why and how to diversify farm income on March 11 (video and full slides are available here), Lusk advocates for starting small and growing from there.
- Maybe it’s time to consider setting aside 5% of a field for a specialty crop.
- Perhaps there’s a gap or bottleneck in local grain processing that you have the bandwidth to step into.
- If you aren’t doing no-till and cover crops, there are options in carbon sequestration from multiple companies.
- Agritourism, be it u-pick, a farm stand, or renting out land for weddings and parties, might be on the upswing.
- Small investments minimize your financial risk, and small projects minimize the amount of time a new venture pulls away from your core operation.
Jayson’s full presentation goes into more detail, but these are the opportunities that might be on your doorstep.
Diversify Smart
For every product, there needs to be a customer.
Start the diversification discussion with your customers, your family, your suppliers, and your network, Lusk emphasizes.
Where is there a gap that you could fill? Is there a new competitive edge you could offer to your customers by expanding your operation to offer one more service, product?
Look for companies offering contracts on specific goods. Maybe it’s a single field of heirloom tomatoes for a contract.
In some cases, Lusk has seen the CAFO belonging to the company, and the operator in charge of the maintenance of the hogs only but doesn’t own anything.
Diversify Now
The time to diversify your company is not when corn and soy prices plummet. By then, you can’t fully think through and experiment with what works best.
The time to diversify is now.
Hear more about diversifying your income with an upcoming webinar co-hosted with Indiana Farm Bureau and Indiana Agriculture Coalition for Renewable Energy. I’ll be moderating a grower panel, and we’ll talk the good, bad and ugly of their on-farm renewable projects (wind, solar, anaerobic digester).
