A record run up (largest percent change since 1980 in this rally time period) has many farmers welding the bins shut- it can only go up, right?
Regardless of your inclination on market direction, I want to focus on realities that are adding to your bottom line this year, and many others, and how to manage them.
The key- know each line item as a cost or income per bushel. Normally, you have Futures price and basis, or just a cash price as income. However, we need to focus on the ‘others’ that are coming in. We will use a farm that averages 220 bushels per acre of corn.
| Payment | Amount/acre | Price/bu. (assuming 220 bu.) |
| 2026 Government payments | $65/acre | $.295/bu |
| 2025 Insurance Payment | $25/acre | $.114/bu |
| 2026 Regenerative Initiatives | $25/acre | $.114/bu |
TOTAL: $.52/bu |
Corn prices crept to $5.49 DEC at the high today on 9/1/2026 as I type. In theory, with these others added in, you are selling $6 corn. I can’t factor in basis because the readers here are all over the board from -$.45 to +$1.50
The key message is knowing what yours costs and your income are on a by line item, per bushel basis. The numbers above are averages- you need to know what they are for your farm. Whether it’s $5, $6, $7 corn as a target, understand how these are impacting your marketing decisions, know where your cost of production is, and where your target margin lies.
Know your cost of production to the penny and set your marketing targets at www.farmprofitmanager.app.
