Cost of Production

Randy Hughes is continually refining his fertility program and has seen yields improve 40 bu. to 50 bu. per acre over the past six years. Hughes chats with corn yield champs David Hula and Randy Dowdy about the importance of being a lifelong student of the crop.

A new article from Purdue says making smart input decisions is about much more than price. Here are 12 factors to consider.

For high-yielding corn and soybean crops, there are some baseline fertility requirements you have to fund. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fine-tune practices and products and save some money. Here are four suggestions from high-yield champs David Hula and Randy Dowdy.

With a career focusing in nutrient management, earlier this winter Tom Snipes became CEO of fertilizer breakout company Ostara as it continues to expand the footprint with its Crystal Green fertilizer.

Figured is a farm financial software that integrates with your current accounting program to track inputs, calculate break-evens and profitability and also create “what if” scenarios. The Figured team joins the Top Producer podcast to share more.

Josh Payne was able to join his grandpa farming full time, but knew his sister might want to follow suit. He had two options: get big or get weird.

The deadline to make your crop insurance decisions is coming soon, and Dave Jansen with Strategic Farm Marketing says there have been major changes to this year’s products.

Experts from Compeer Financial say last year’s coverage might not be adequate for this year’s cost of production, and coverage might not have the same effect it did last year or even two years ago.

Among the independent field agronomists’ recommendations: Address your No. 1 yield-limiting factor, employ the 5% rule and fix soil pH.

Find out why University of Illinois professor Gary Schnitkey says maximizing profits may not mean maximizing yield.