Risk Management

Farmers Emphasize Demand, Not Payments, Is The ‘Bridge To Better Times' For Agriculture

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:26:14 GMT

Two Midwest farmers are pinning their hopes for the future on stronger demand for corn and soybeans — especially the latter — as they navigate tight margins, high input costs, and an uncertain price outlook.

Northern Illinois farmer Steve Pitstick and south-central Iowa farmer Dennis Bogaards say they have exhausted most cost-cutting options for this season. They believe future profitability now rests on whether demand for both crops — particularly from domestic soybean crush and fuel markets — expands enough to support higher prices.

One silver lining currently, Pitstick says, is his relatively strong position on fertilizer heading into the 2026 planting season.

“We will do pretty much the dry spread program we always do,” he says. “We cut the rates a little bit on the phosphates just because of price. We booked our 32% in September, something we traditionally do. We have all the nitrogen bought, so I feel good about 2026 from that aspect.”

While he believes additional fertilizer is available, he notes it will likely be priced at a premium.

“I believe I can get more if I need it. I may not like the price, but I can get more,” he told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory during the weekly Farmer Forum segment.

Little To No Expansion On The Horizon

As the season begins, both farmers emphasize that the coming years will have farmers focusing on survival and strategic adjustments rather than acreage expansion.

One adjustment Bogaards is making is front-loading some of his nitrogen needs this season while leaving a portion open in case prices break.

“We booked anhydrous early on for this year, back in early fall, and got an OK price,” Bogaards says. “I have a little bit of sidedress that we do. We book about half of that, and I sit open on the rest of it. I’ll wait and see where it goes.”

Bogaards remains committed to sidedressing as long as product is available and prices do not continue ratcheting up. “If I can get it, I’ll put it on, unless it is a crazy, crazy price,” he says.

Like many U.S. growers, both Bogaards and Pitstick say there is virtually no room left to cut fertilizer use without risking yields.

“There is no place to cut back. We are being as efficient as we can be,” Pitstick says.

Bogaards agrees, noting that nitrogen is not the place to skimp. “Maybe a year or so, you can cut back on the P and K a little bit, but you do not want to get caught in three or four years of that.”

He also remains reluctant to drop fungicides. “Fungicides really pay off,” he says. “In the past, we did not use them, but the last few years they really paid, and I would hate to not spray them.”

Uncertainty About The 2027 Crop Mix

While the 2026 crop is largely “business as usual,” both farmers told Flory that 2027 brings real uncertainty—especially regarding nitrogen supplies. Pitstick is concerned about how global demand could impact costs for U.S. producers.

“I am worried about the price of the nitrogen,” he says. “It may not be an issue in the United States from a supply standpoint, but the rest of the world… could export our product because of opportunity cost, and that drives the price up. It is a total wait and see.”

Flory underscored how global trade flows directly shape what American farmers pay, noting that some fertilizer shipments originally destined for the U.S. were recently rerouted.

“Some boats are diverted from the U.S. to other countries,” Flory says. “If you want your share, you have to beat the next guy in line with the price.”

If nitrogen prices soar while corn prices stagnate, Pitstick says his rotation could shift. “That might change how we do things in 2027. We may have to go to more soybeans,” he says.

Bogaards also expects to alter his corn–soybean mix, given the potential demand from domestic crush and renewable fuels.

“In the past, we were probably 60% to 65% corn,” he says. “We have been backing off of that. I still do a little bit of corn-on-corn, but I might try to go to a 50–50 rotation.”

Flory believes this shift could help rebalance supplies and improve price prospects. “If we can pull some acres away from corn and get this thing rebalanced, maybe that is our bridge to a better time,” Flory says. “Our bridge to a better time is more demand across the board and crops competing for acres — not another payment.”

Bogaards says the shifting economics are already evident. “A couple of years ago, people said soybeans are a drag on our financial statements. It looks like almost the opposite right now.”

Even so, Bogaards is cautious about making long-term decisions based on short-term signals. “I can change acres right now, but by next fall, it might be the worst decision. I think you have to go with your rotation and stick with it.”

Pitstick links his long-term outlook to fuel sector growth, noting that both corn and soybeans increasingly function as energy crops.

“Some of the most profitable years of my career were when we had high fuel prices because we were also a fuel crop,” he says. “I have some optimism that these high fuel prices will cause some demand and increase our crop prices.”

For now, both farmers say their immediate job is to manage through 2026 while keeping their options open. With high costs for fertilizer, fuel, and machinery, they see expanded demand as the only realistic path forward.

“It is just survival at this point,” Bogaards says. “We just have to make sure we can survive and keep plugging through it.”

You can listen to the complete discussion between Bogaards, Pitstick and Flory on AgriTalk at the link below:

One Big Beautiful Bill Might Force Farmers to Rethink Farm Business Structures

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:02:09 GMT

At a time when farm income is under growing pressure, the One Big Beautiful Bill is reshaping the farm safety net in ways that go well beyond bigger checks or better crop insurance coverage. According to Farm CPA Paul Neiffer, the legislation could quietly push producers toward fundamental changes in how their farm businesses are structured, decisions that could have long-term implications for taxes, payments, and succession planning.

While the bill was signed into law in July of 2025, there’s still guidance that needs to be set before farmers can make vital decisions. And some of the most favorable changes- like to crop insurance coverage- won’t go into effect until late this year.

While much of the early conversation around the bill has focused on higher reference prices and stronger crop insurance subsidies, during the 2026 Top Producer Summit, Neiffer told attendees the real impact may not be fully understood yet, and farmers should be paying close attention.

“This bill changes the rules we’ve all been operating under for the last 20 years,” Neiffer says. “And when the rules change, the structure of the farm suddenly matters a lot more than it used to.”

Financial Stress Is Already Building in Farm Country

The bill arrives against a backdrop of tightening farm finances. USDA’s updated net farm income forecast showed a sharper-than-expected decline for 2025 , with early projections for 2026 offering little comfort, particularly for row-crop producers, a trend doesn’t surprise Neiffer.

“It peaked out in 2022, and it’s definitely been going down ever since,” he explains. “If you’re a row-crop farmer, 2026 is probably going to look a lot like 2025 unless something changes on the price side.”

While government payments will help stabilize income, Neiffer is blunt about what would happen without them.

“Without ARC, PLC, the FSA payments, the SDRP top-ups, without all of that, most row crop farmers would absolutely be struggling right now,” he says.

Payments tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill are expected to start flowing in October, providing a critical backstop during a period when margins remain thin and balance sheets are tightening across large parts of the country.

Crop Insurance: One of the Bill’s Biggest Wins

Neiffer gives the crop insurance provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill high marks , calling them one of the clearest positives for producers.

“I’d give it a B-plus to A-minus,” says Neiffer.

Why such a high grade? The bill boosts premium subsidies across most revenue protection levels:

Coverage levels from 55% to 75% receive a 5 percentage-point increase in premium subsidies.
80% and 85% coverage levels see a 3 percentage-point increase.
Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) now extends up to 90% coverage, and farmers can now pair ARC with SCO, something previously prohibited.
SCO subsidies jump from 65% to 80%, making higher coverage far more affordable.

For many producers, especially wheat growers, these changes significantly reduce out-of-pocket costs while expanding protection.

Beginning farmers also receive a major boost. Previously limited to a 10% premium subsidy bump for five years, the bill expands the benefit to 10 years, with even higher subsidies in the early years.

“For young farmers, it can now make financial sense to farm on their own instead of with their parents,” Neiffer said. “From a family standpoint, they’re actually going to make more money.”

Prevent Plant Still a Pain Point

Not everything is a win. One of the main reasons Neiffer doesn’t give the crop insurance changes a straight A is because of changes to prevent plant, something that remains a concern, especially in high-risk regions like Arkansas and the Dakotas.

Under previous rules, farmers could buy up an additional 10% of coverage. That was later reduced to 5%, and Neiffer says USDA’s Risk Management Agency is still discussing cutting or eliminating that option entirely.

“That extra 5% really matters when you’ve got too much water,” he said.

While not enough to outweigh the bill’s positives, the issue drags down what could otherwise be a near-perfect crop insurance package.

Beginning Farmers See Expanded Incentives

The bill also significantly expands benefits for beginning farmers, extending premium subsidy incentives from five years to ten , while also increasing the subsidy percentages in the early years.

“Before, they got a 10% bump, but only for five years,” Neiffer says. “Now it’s 15% in years one and two, 13% in year three, 11% in year four, and 10% all the way through year ten.”

That change, he says, could alter how farm families bring the next generation into the operation.

“For a lot of young farmers, it may actually make more sense financially to farm on their own instead of farming with their parents,” Neiffer says. “If they’re part of the parents’ operation, they may or may not qualify for those premium subsidies. On their own, they do.”

From a purely financial standpoint, Neiffer says some families could generate more income overall by restructuring how younger operators enter the business.

Prevent Plant Remains a Lingering Concern

Despite the positives, not every provision landed well with producers. Prevent plant coverage remains a contentious issue, particularly in regions prone to excess moisture.

“Under the old rules, you could buy up an extra 10% of prevent plant coverage,” Neiffer adds. “That got cut to 5%, and now RMA is still talking about cutting or eliminating that extra 5% altogether.”

For producers in places like Arkansas and the Dakotas, that reduction matters.

“When you’ve got too much water, that extra coverage helps mitigate a really bad situation,” he says. “Losing it would hurt.”

Even so, Neiffer says the overall crop insurance package remains strong.

“That’s really the only thing dragging it down just a little bit,” he said.

ARC and PLC Changes Offer Ongoing Protection

Beyond insurance, Neiffer points to ARC and PLC changes as one of the most important income stabilizers in the bill, especially because they are designed to work over time, not just in a single marketing year.

“The increase in reference prices and effective reference prices isn’t a one-shot deal,” he says. “It happens this year, it happens next year, and it keeps happening as long as prices stay depressed.”

The bill also includes what Neiffer describes as an “automatic put” built into ARC and PLC, designed to cushion farmers during prolonged periods of weak prices.

“That’s going to help smooth out income over multiple years, and right now, that’s exactly what farmers need,” says Neiffer.

The Structural Shift Farmers May Not Be Ready For

The most overlooked part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and potentially what may be the most consequential part of the legislation, is how it changes payment limits tied to farm business structure.

Under old rules, LLCs and S corporations were often limited to a single payment cap. The new law shifts that framework, allowing multiple payment limits based on the number of equal owners , depending on how the operation is structured.

That opens the door to significant restructuring. According to Neiffer:

General partnerships may move to LLCs for liability protection and expanded payment eligibility.
C corporations, which remain stuck with a single payment limit, may convert to S corporations.
Some farms are already making the switch.

“I’ve talked to several farmers already that either have switched or will be switching,” Neiffer says. “And it’s completely because of the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Still, he urges caution. USDA guidance on how these new rules will be applied has not yet been released.

“Before I tell anyone to change their structure, we need that guidance,” Neiffer says. “Otherwise, you risk unintended consequences that wipe out the benefit.”

A Note of Caution on Taxes and Spending

Neiffer also warns producers not to let tax provisions drive equipment purchases or expansion decisions.

“There are a lot of good tax provisions in this bill,” he said. “But farmers tend to get hooked on them.”

He points specifically to bonus depreciation as an area of concern.

“They go out and buy something just because they can deduct it,” he says. “If they finance it with debt, they don’t always think about what happens the next year, or the year after that, or the year after that.”

The result, he says, can be financial strain that lasts long after the tax benefit fades.

Guidance Still Needed Before Big Decisions

Despite the potential advantages of restructuring, Neiffer urges farmers to have patience. USDA guidance on how the new payment limit rules will be applied has not yet been released.

“Before I’m telling anybody to change their structure, we really need that guidance,” he says. “I worry about the law of unintended consequences, where we think the rule is going to work one way, and then something else kicks in and negates the benefit.”

Farmers were expecting clarity by the end of 2025. That hasn’t happened yet.

“We’re already almost to March,” Neiffer says. “But we should have it any day now.”

When it arrives, Neiffer believes it could prompt some of the most significant farm business decisions producers have faced in years , driven not just by markets, but by policy.

Farmers Face Budget Squeeze And Balance Sheet Challenges—Echoes Of A Decade Ago

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 21:13:24 GMT

If heading into 2026 feels a little like déjà vu, you’re picking up the same vibes Chris Barron, president and CEO of Iowa-based Ag View Solutions, is experiencing. He believes the next couple of years will echo the last big downturn farmers weathered a decade ago.

“It’s kind of scary that 2025, ’26 and ’27 look essentially like a repeat of 2015, ’16 and ’17,” Barron says. “If you remember that time frame and made it through, buckle down because I think we’re going there again.”

He says one of the clearest signals farmers are about to experience a repeat of a decade ago is based on the 2026 cost-of-production data from Ag View Solutions’ clients, who are based in 23 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces:

Soybeans: About $11.87 per bushel based on a 65-bu. average yield
Corn: About $4.69 per bushel (before basis) on a 223-bu. average, with many growers needing at least $4.85.

Some growers raising non-GMO seed beans or getting premium contracts can still make soybeans compete. But for many farms, soybeans are the weak link in the current economic cycle.

Right now, Ag View Solutions clients are expected to plant roughly 62% of their acres to corn and 38% to soybeans for 2026 — essentially the same as 2025. Barron says he doesn’t expect many acres to shift away from this mix to more soybeans “unless something really changes.”

Given current price relationships and crop insurance guarantees, Ag View Solutions data shows about a $50-per-acre advantage to corn over soybeans for the year ahead. Even if the dollars trend lower, he says corn often pencils out better because of gross revenue and risk management tools.

More Cost Pressures Heading Into 2026

It’s no secret production costs are increasing heading into the next season. Some of the key factors include:

Overhead costs (what Barron calls ‘”return to management”) for family and employee expenses, including phones, fuel and business-paid personal expenses, are up nearly 5%. After the past year or two of what Barron describes as hard belt-tightening, he says deferred spending is “snapping back” at higher levels.

Land rents are holding mostly steady, supported by higher property taxes and outside investor demand.

Interest expense is climbing as operating lines grow.

Fertilizer costs are a mixed bag. On corn, fertilizer costs are up about 7%, even though Barron believes most farms are staying with removal-rate applications. On soybeans, he says fertility costs will be lower, mainly because growers are putting less fertilizer on their bean acres and leaning harder on corn nutrients.

Machinery and equipment costs are also inching higher for the year ahead.

This Is Not A Repeat Of The 1980s

Despite the “red” many farmers will see on their spreadsheets in the year ahead, Barron says the current period is not a repeat of the 1980s farm crisis, for two key reasons:

Farmer equity is strong. Debt-to-asset ratios remain healthy for many U.S. growers, even if cash is tight.
Many farmer exits are voluntary. Today, many farmers are choosing to retire or scale back in order to protect equity.

Barron offers a recent example: “I got a call the other day on 7,000 acres, a 45-year-old farmer saying, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore. I’ve got a $5 million equity position, and I’m not going to go for a couple more years and chew away another million dollars. I’m just going to be done.’”

Strategies for the Current Climate

To survive — and potentially thrive — in this “repeat” cycle, Barron suggests focusing on these four areas in the year ahead:

Do the high-dollar work. Barron says the “$500-an-hour” work is crunching numbers in the farm office. “Know your true costs, stress-test budgets, analyze each profit center. A few hours spent with good numbers can be worth far more than another round in the tractor,” he says.
Protect yield. He advises against cutting seed, chemistry or other inputs that protect or enhance yield “just to save a few cents per bushel.”
Right-size your operation. Barron says some of the most successful turnarounds he’s seen with operations lately have come when farmers “right-sizes” — they’re doing less, but doing it better — instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
Use collaborative models. Barron says he is seeing more farmers share equipment and labor with their neighbors to spread fixed costs without extra capital.

Opportunity Will Still Knock

During a Top Producer podcast, Barron told Host Paul Neiffer that the tight times ahead will create new land-rent opportunities for some farmers who want to expand. What commonly happens when margins get tight is some farmers pull back, and that’s when expansion possibilities open up for others.

“We’ve had numerous clients call us about opportunities to rent land and not like in small amounts. When times are tight and when things aren’t good, that’s when these opportunities present themselves,” he says.

Barron’s message for those farmers in expansion mode: have your numbers, working capital and lender relationships in order now, so if the right block of ground comes available, you can move quickly and confidently on it.

If you’re interested in the ROI spreadsheet Barron’s team uses to analyze market trends, email cbarron@agviewsolutions.com .

Hear the complete discussion between Barron and Flory on Farm Journal TV . Also, you can listen to the Top Producer podcast discussion between Barron and Neiffer at the link below:

Maximize Soybean Yields — Harvesting This Week Could Be Key

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:45:21 GMT

If you’re wondering whether you need to harvest soybeans soon, the answer is yes – maybe even this week – according to Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer.

The weather pattern that has set in across much of the Midwest is resulting in a rapid drydown of soybean crops, advancing moisture losses in the beans (seeds) faster than what many farmers might be anticipating.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released last Thursday, Sept. 11, reports nearly one-fourth (22%) of all soybean acres are experiencing some level of extreme dryness or drought.

Many of the top soybean producing states are experiencing abnormally dry conditions to severe drought this week. The result with soybeans is rapid drydown is underway, putting yield results at risk of moving lower.

(CPC/NOAA)

Because drydown is going quickly, Ferrie and Bauer are concerned growers are going to wind up harvesting soybeans with less moisture than desired, and that could be a huge negative for yield outcomes.

“I know a lot of guys are calling around, asking neighbors if they’re cutting beans and what the moisture level is, but I wouldn’t wait,” Ferrie says. “This is the year when cutting 12%, 13% soybeans is a lot better than the 8% beans I think we’re going to potentially deal with.”

Want to know why it’s so dry? Check out this video with U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan — Drought Conditions Intensify: What is Causing This Problem?

Understand The Factors That Contribute To Yield
There are three components to soybean yield: pods per acre, beans per pod and the size of the beans (seed). At this point in the growing season, final soybean yield is being driven by the seed size and weight.

Weather can play a huge role in the development process late-season. If you have favorable late-season temperatures and rainfall, that can create larger seed weights by extending the seed-fill duration.

Conversely, late-season disease or drought – like what is underway now in many areas – can terminate the seed-fill period prematurely and reduce seed size, explain Ryan Van Roekel, former Pioneer field agronomist, and Larry Purcell, University of Arkansas professor emeritus of crop physiology.

The goal with harvesting the crop at a higher moisture level now is to preserve bean seed size (weight).

With Heavier Soybeans, Fewer Are Needed Per Bushel

A standard bushel of soybeans weighs 60 pounds at 13% moisture content. You typically need between 2,500 to 3,500 soybeans to make a pound. Bauer is concerned the number of beans required per pound will be on the higher end this season.

“It’s so dry here (in southern Michigan), the longer we wait the more the seed size is going to suffer,” she says. “We’re going to have a lot of 3,000 or more seeds per pound coming in. It’s going to feel like we’re harvesting BBs.”

Granted, you can err on the other side – harvested soybeans can contain too much moisture, resulting in discounts by buyers. But that’s unlikely to be the case this season.

“With this heat, these beans are going to dry really fast, and we don’t want that to result in us giving up a chunk of yield,” Bauer says.

Ferrie’s advice is to combine soybeans now, even if you don’t think you should be combining them, and that likely means you need to go through fields at slower speeds.

“You’re going to have to deal with a little bit of noise and thumping, and it’s probably going to be easier on the guys with the belted head, versus the auger heads. But push this bean harvest,” Ferrie advises. “Don’t wait for the field to look like it’s right to harvest. The beans might be tough cutting, but keep cutting.”

Your next read: Six Sources of Soybean Loss and How to Address Them

Put On Your Scouting Hat: Check for Southern Rust in Corn and White Mold in Soybeans

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 19:37:54 GMT

Significant disease pressure is showing up in corn and soybeans earlier this summer than what Daren Mueller saw in 2024 crops. The Iowa State University plant pathologist says the early onset of disease pressure he has seen in Iowa – southern rust in corn, and sudden death syndrome (SDS) and white mold in soybeans – is concerning.

While he is closely tracking diseases in soybeans, he says there is “worse news” about the diseases showing up in corn.

“We actually are seeing a lot of southern rust in Iowa already. That is the one thing that I’m probably the most nervous about. I think we’ve found it in six or seven counties now,” he says.

Southern rust has been confirmed in at least 14 states. In Iowa, there’s a band of the disease that stretches east to west across the state, says Daren Mueller, Iowa State University pathologist.

(Crop Protection Network)

Along with Iowa, the Crop Protection Network (CPN) has confirmed southern rust in at least 13 other states – including Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska – and a “probable” finding in Indiana.

Southern rust can be difficult to distinguish from common rust .

While both are fungal diseases that affect corn and share similar symptoms, they have distinct characteristics. Common rust tends to favor cooler, wetter conditions, while southern rust prefers warmer, humid weather.

Southern rust can also be more aggressive and potentially more yield-damaging than common rust, especially in later planted fields.

“Southern rust likes heat, and we don’t have good levels of resistance. And it can move very, very quickly through a cornfield,” Mueller told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory on Thursday. CPN reports yield losses up to 45% have been reported with severe infections.

“Last year was the first year in a long time where we really had to deal with southern rust, and we’re finding it about 10 days earlier than last year.”

The good news in Iowa, so far: the incidence (number of plants affected) and severity (area of leaf diseased) are low, adds Alison Robertson, Iowa State professor of plant pathology and microbiology in an online article she posted on Thursday.

Mueller is encouraging farmers to get out and scout for southern rust now, so they can take action to address the disease.

“In a year like this, if we catch a couple more rains like we’re supposed to in the next week or so, and this inoculum is out there, a timely fungicide application is going to be very beneficial,” he says.

The Crop Protection Network, a multi-state Extension resource, offers a new mapping tool called Crop Lookout farmers can reference to identify various diseases and their locations.

“If you just click on that, there’s a couple of hot links on that map for tar spot and southern rust. When we find new spots of disease, it’s updated in real time,” Mueller says.

Speaking of tar spot, Mueller says the disease can still take a huge toll on corn, but that farmers are learning how to deal more effectively with the disease.

“I think we’re getting more used to tar spot, and I think people aren’t panicking as much,” he says.

Soybean Diseases Showed Up Early This Season, Too

Mueller says he found SDS and white mold (also known as Sclerotinia stem rot) in soybeans in mid-July.

“That was about a month earlier than what we want,” says Mueller, who serves as the coordinator of the Iowa State integrated pest management program. “The fact that (SDS) was showing up a good month in advance, it has us a little nervous.”

SDS is most severe when soybeans are planted in cool, wet soils and has delayed emergence – conditions that were prevalent this past spring in parts of Iowa and further into the East and Southeast.

Severe SDS can result in yield losses greater than 50%, according to University of Minnesota Extension.

To address SDS, there’s no curative action farmers can take, but Mueller offers one action farmers can take to address the problem.

“You get your pad and paper out and you take notes in the field. Record what varieties you selected, what seed treatments you put down. That’s all valuable information for the next time you plant soybeans,” he says.

This is an important action because key soybean planting states, like Iowa, have had three or more years of fairly dry weather in the latter half of the summer, so crop advisers and farmers have little data on which of the newer varieties perform best in the face of SDS.

“Use it to your advantage to just collect the data,” Mueller advises.

For white mold, Mueller says farmers can still apply a fungicide in many cases and get enough of a response to warrant the cost of treatment.

“We’re still, early enough, you can get a fungicide out there if you feel like the risk is staying high. You could spray all the way up to R3 and still get some money back on your fungicide,” he says.

“You’ve got to get some penetration through the canopy [for white mold],” he adds. “All the activity is done in that lower canopy. Anything you can do to get the fungicide as deep into that canopy as you can, that’s what we want.”

Unlike SDS, white mold is fairly easy to pinpoint definitively in the field. At this point in the season, Mueller says to look for individual dead plants “here and there” in the field.

“Then just peel back the canopy, and look for the white powder, it’s called mycelia, the fungal growth. You know that’s a telltale sign that you have white mold,” he says.

Mueller’s complete conversation on AgriTalk is available here:

Your next read: ‘Overly Tight Tassel Wrap’ Is Affecting Pollination In Corn

Is This The Starting Point for A New Farm Bill?

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:44:33 GMT

From conversations in the legislative halls of Washington, D.C., to farmer fields across rural America, much of the talk in agricultural circles for months has revolved around H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB),

Now, the massive piece of legislation, signed by President Trump on the Fourth of July, is being hailed by some as farm bill 1.0.

That positioning caught the attention of farmers participating in the AgriTalk Farmer Forum on Wednesday, who shared their perspective. Listen to it here:

Hazelton, N.D., farmer Mike Appert said he values the improvement farmers will potentially see from an estate tax standpoint, as well as the changes made to Section 179 IRS tax code for machinery.

“The Section 179 bonus depreciation is so important on these farming operations,” Appert said. “If you’re going to keep buying machinery and trading in your old equipment, you know, we just needed that.”

Paul Neiffer, the Farm CPA and a Top Producer columnist, noted that farmers can now take advantage of 100% bonus depreciation for assets placed in service after Jan. 19, 2025, and Section 179 has been bumped to $2.5 million for 2025.

Neiffer adds that he would rate the OBBB as a B+ for most farmers. He provides an outline of some of the key details farmers need to know in his most recent column, available here .

More Risk Management Resources

“You know, really and truly, I like what I see in this legislative package because, especially for future years, this is a significant amount of money being addressed. I really like the risk management portion,” said Garry Niemeyer, an Illinois farmer and past president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

Niemeyer is particularly pleased to see increased support for the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program, which he and many other farmers believe are crucial for expanding exports and market opportunities.

“Since my early days participating in Illinois Corn Growers, back in 1995, we had been requesting more funds for these two programs. And finally, 30 years later, it happened,” Niemeyer said.

Specifically, MAP annual funding would go from the current $200 million approved to $400 million annually, while FMD would go from $34.5 million to $69 million annually.

Sen. John Boozman, said what he heard from farmers leading up to passage of the OBBB, was how important trade programs are to farmers’ economic survival and their hopes for future prosperity.

“We were able to essentially double the amount of money that we spend on trade programs,” said Boozman, (R-AR), chair of the Senate Ag Committee, on Wednesday.

Boozman also highlighted the urgent need for safety net provisions for farmers, due to rising economic stress across the nation.

“It’s just such a difficult situation,” noted Boozman, highlighting what’s happening in his home state alone. “I read an article today about bankruptcies in Arkansas, how they’re up 67% over last year, and last year was a bad year.”

Looking ahead, Boozman says he plans to visit farmers on both sides of the political aisle this summer and into the fall to gather input for developing a new farm bill.

“We’ll be talking about the farm bill and what else we need to get done,” he said. “It is difficult in farm country right now, and we need to support farmers in any way we can.”

Catch Boozman’s wide-ranging discussion with AgriTalk Host Chip Flory, available here.

Your next read: Big Beautiful Bill: What Farmers Need to Know

Want to Boost Corn Yields? Balance Your Nitrogen Checkbook In-Season

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

As Aaron Gingerich walked across jade-green fields of newly emerged corn plants this spring, he had a hunch about the crop that stand evaluations would soon validate: his 2025 crop was off to a winning start.

Mindful of high input costs and low commodity prices, Gingerich pondered his next decision in late May – whether to keep the yield goals he had penciled out for the crop last winter or move them higher, based on what he was seeing in the field. He opted for the latter, bumping his overall yield goal by 12% and making a corresponding increase in his nitrogen program to support the decision.

The plan-then-verify approach to setting yield goals and supporting them with adequate nitrogen (N) in-season has been Gingerich’s go-to strategy in recent years to build incremental yield increases – an annual chess match with Mother Nature that he wins more times than not come harvest.

“The goal is to make sure the crop gets enough nitrogen from day one and through the entire season but to do it as efficiently and sustainably as possible in the process,” says Gingerich, who farms near Lovington, Ill. “It’s been a journey of learning for the past 15 years, and we’re still learning.”

Strategic N Decisions Based On Corn Yield Goals
Gingrich aims to achieve between a 0.85 and a 0.9 nitrogen use efficiency ratio per bushel of corn.

The past few years he has been able to achieve that with a nitrogen program that includes fall-applied DAP, followed in the spring with a banded application of 20% of his total nitrogen, made with a strip-till freshener just prior to planting on the strip. The modest amount of N applied then fuels a strong start in the crop at emergence (VE) and also helps address the carbon penalty, in which a large volume of old crop residue stimulates microorganism populations and causes soil nitrogen to become tied up and unavailable until later in the season.

Next up, Gingerich plans his sidedress applications by pulling nitrate samples to evaluate N availability and whether any leaching issues have occurred. Based on the test results, he makes sidedress applications with the remaining 75% to 80% of his N, paired with a nitrogen inhibitor.

Ken Ferrie calls the process of evaluating nitrate test results and then fine-tuning nitrogen applications at sidedress time and beyond balancing the nitrogen checkbook.

Implementing the practice is important to use for a variety of reasons and is always geared to helping farmers fuel their corn adequately to reach target yield goals at harvest, says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

“There are things we can’t control, like the weather, but we can make agronomic decisions to mitigate risks and give the crop its best chance to perform up to its potential,” he says.

A common scenario is like the one Gingerich gladly faced this spring – when young corn stands are better than anticipated, and a boost to N rates is needed to reach higher yield goals.

“Say you had a 220-bu. yield goal originally and you decided to go for 260 bushels after corn stand evaluations, the nitrogen needs to be adjusted for that,” Ferrie says.

Another scenario Ferrie has seen play out this year is where farmers opted out of N use last fall, because of budget constraints, but then made no adjustments to their nitrogen program this spring.

“If a year ago we wrote the grower a fertilizer recommendation and it had 48 pounds of N in the dry application but he decided to not put it on due to budget, that 48 pounds has to come back into the picture now, and sometimes farmers forget,” he explains.

Weather conditions always play a role in nitrogen use. In areas where farmers have dealt with too much water this season, Ferrie says pulling nitrate samples for testing – which provides a snapshot in time – works like a nitrogen inventory checker.

“Here locally, I’m feeling good about our N program. For the guys that have been held up by rain and are fighting that, I know that statement may not be true at all, unfortunately,” he says.

Decisions Based On The 4Rs Improves Yield Outcomes, ROI
Ferrie says he sees growers increasingly tuned into using the 4Rs – right product, right rate, right place, right time.

“Farmers are learning to walk that tightrope better, while still making sure corn never has a bad day,” he says. “With our nitrogen recommendation, it pertains to yield goal, hybrid type, population, soil type, organic matter, and we can do what’s called an estimated nitrogen release test to kind of put that all together.”

The way a nitrogen program works is lighter soils need the most applied N. Heavier soils take less N per bushel of corn because the soil supplies that balance.

“When you get into your lighter timber soils, they take more applied N per bushel because the soil can’t supply it. So somebody who’s on a light timber soil and gets nervous and pulls his N rate back, he’s going to get hurt harder than somebody who’s in some heavy black soil that has a lot of built-in horsepower.”

With the 4Rs in mind, Gingerich has tweaked his application timing several times over the years. “We used to fall-apply anhydrous, and then we went to split applications, and we’ve kept adjusting. Now, because we do have heavy soils, I can apply those higher rates of N at sidedress, knowing it’ll be there when the crop needs it at tassel, ear fill and beyond,” he says.

Never Let Corn Have A Bad Day
The right-time aspect of the 4Rs requires understanding how much nitrogen (per day, week or month) corn plants take up at each stage of growth. “Fortunately, there’s a wealth of published information farmers can use for guidance,” Ferrie says. “Using computer models, we can input our planting date and weather data and the model can predict when plants will reach various growth stages and how much nitrogen must be taken aboard each day.”

To reach a specific yield goal, growers need to know about a hybrid’s season-long uptake and N timing needs along the way. For instance, a 200-bu. per acre corn crop will consume between 330 lb. to 350 lb. of nitrogen per acre, on average.

“On many soils, we only need to apply about 200 lb. of nitrogen, or less, because the soil provides the rest of the nitrogen,” Ferrie explains. “Our challenge is to make sure sufficient nitrogen is present when the plant needs it throughout the growing season. That requirement is small at the beginning and becomes very large later in the season. And it varies by hybrid.”

Right after emergence, corn takes up only a very small amount of nitrogen. By the time a plant reaches the V5 growth stage (five leaf collars showing), it might contain only 8 to 10 grams of dry matter in its leaves, stalks and roots, and that dry matter is only 1.5% to 2% nitrogen. So, at 36,000 plants per acre, 1 acre of corn takes up only about 1.2 lb. of nitrogen through the V5 stage.

Although N uptake is low from emergence to V5, it can’t be neglected. “Poor placement, one of the 4Rs, can restrict plants from finding even 1 lb. of nitrogen,” Ferrie says. “If you applied anhydrous ammonia 7" to 8" deep the previous fall, the N might still be there, but it will be out of reach for the plant.”

During the V5 through V8 growth stages, sufficient nitrogen is critical because that’s when many hybrids begin adjusting their potential ear size. “If a plant suffers serious nitrogen deficiency between the V5 and V8 growth stages, it might cut back from 18 rows of kernels to 14 or 16,” Ferrie says. “Once a plant scales back its ear girth, we can’t get it back.”

Nitrogen Requirements Through Corn Reproductive Stages
From V12 to R3, plants store nitrogen in their stalks. If at any time a plant can’t meet its nitrogen needs, it translocates nitrogen from its stalk to the grain.

At V12, growth becomes so rapid that, as farmers often say, you can hear the corn grow. “At this stage, the nitrogen uptake rate is steep, and the supply is critical,” Ferrie says. “This is the crucial period in which maximum ear length still is being negotiated inside the plant. It continues all the way to grain fill.

After V12, if we stress the plant very long, without enough nitrogen, it might start to abort kernels.

Kernel abortion can continue into the dough stage, and, once it happens, you can’t get those kernels back.

“Our studies have shown, by the time we see lighter green color in nitrogen-deficient strips, we usually have given up some yield. We can turn those plants green again by applying nitrogen—and we have to, to avoid losing much more yield—but we can’t make up the lost yield potential.

Generally, a plant accumulates about 70% of the total N it will need before silking and accumulates about 30% during reproductive growth, according to Purdue University Extension.

At about R3, the plant begins heavy translocation of nitrogen from the stalk to the grain, as plants work on filling kernel depth. Through R4 and R5, entering the dent stage, the plant continues to translocate nitrogen from the stalk into the grain. “If the stalk is empty of nitrogen at this time, it will affect grain fill,” Ferrie says.

Gingerich says, so far, his sidedress applications are keeping his corn adequately fueled through harvest, though he has contemplated applying N with a Y-drop application. “So far we haven’t seen an economic benefit to it, but we might in the future,” he says. “With these newer hybrids using more nutrients to stay greener and healthier longer, I can see how making an adjustment at some point could provide more ROI.”

Talk With Your Seed Supplier
Seed companies are starting to provide farmers with information about corn hybrid response patterns to nitrogen.

“Some can tell you whether the hybrid needs N up front, at the back end or broken up with split applications,” Ferrie says. “If this information is not available for your hybrids, you can incorporate nitrogen timing into a hybrid test plot and observe the response.”

Ferrie offers a final caution for farmers who believe corn needs to turn yellow before nitrogen deficiencies limit yield. That’s a theory that can cause significant yield losses.

“You can have a 20-bu. loss in yield from a lack of adequate nitrogen and not be able to see that from the pickup,” he says. “When we are dealing with nutrients that affect yield, nitrogen is the big dog. And when you run out, yields will drop. Missing P and K will change soil test values, but missing out on nitrogen reduces yields,” he adds.

Darrell Smith contributed information on nitrogen application timing to this article.

Your Next Read: Southern Farmers’ Nightmare: Balance Sheets on the Brink as Now Rain Wreaks Havoc on Planting

$10 Billion in ECAP Aid Now Available to Qualifying Farmers

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:34:08 GMT

Applications are now open through August 15, 2025, for farmers interested in participating in the $10-billion Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP), which is being administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The aid comes available at a crucial time as farmers are experiencing low commodity prices, high input costs and a variety of trade uncertainties going into the 2025 production season.

The American Relief Act of 2025, which was passed by Congress late last year, authorized the $10 billion for ECAP payments to help offset losses growers incurred during the 2024 crop year.

Payments will be made to farmers on a flat per-acre rate on 100% of planted acres, or 50% of those prevented from planting, Paul Neiffer, Farm CPA, told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory earlier this week.

“Eligible farmers are those planting commodity crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, legumes, dry peas, oilseeds,” Neiffer said.

Acres planted for harvest, grazing, haying, silage or other similar purposes in the 2024 crop year also qualify. In all, a total of 22 different crops are included in the program (see list below).

Neiffer addresses many of the questions farmers are asking him about ECAP in his discussion with Flory on AgriTalk. Listen here:

Specific Requirements For Eligibility
To be eligible, farmers must meet the following requirements, according to Betty Resnick, American Farm Bureau Federation economist:

Be actively engaged in farming.
Have an interest in input expenses for a covered commodity.
Have reported acreage of eligible commodities to FSA for the 2024 crop year planted and prevent plant acres to FSA on an FSA-578, Report of Acreage form.
Have reported acres that were prevented from being planted to FSA for the 2024 crop year on an CCC-576 Notice of Loss form (if applicable).

Producers who have not previously reported 2024 crop year acreage or filed a notice of loss for prevent plant crops, must submit an acreage report by the August 15, 2025 deadline.

Notably, the initial round of payments will only amount to 85% of the per-acre payment to ensure that enough funding is available for all farmers who sign up for the program, Neiffer told Flory.

After the ECAP application period closes on August 15, a second payment may be issued with the remaining funds up to the additional 15% of the per-acre payments. Farmers can estimate their total expected payments using an online calculator available at fsa.usda.gov/ecap.

Producers can also contact their local FSA offices with additional questions.

Farmers can use the ECAP calculator provided by USDA-FSA to get an idea of what their payment could be potentially.

(Lori Hays)

Eligible Crops And Rates
Commodities included in the program are:

Wheat: $30.69
Corn: $42.91
Sorghum – $42.52
Barley – $21.67
Oats – $77.66
Upland cotton & Extra-long staple cotton – $84.74
Long & medium grain rice – $76.94
Peanuts – $75.51
Soybeans – $29.76
Dry peas – $16.02
Lentils – $19.30
Small Chickpeas – $31.45
Large Chickpeas – $24.02

Eligible Oilseeds:

Canola – $31.83
Crambe – $19.08
Flax – $20.97
Mustard – $11.36
Rapeseed – $23.63
Safflower – $26.32
Sesame – $16.83
Sunflower – $27.23

Your next read: What USDA Corn and Soybean Acreage Estimates Would Shock the Market On Monday?

Are You Leaving Growth On The Table?

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 17:13:13 GMT

Do you use SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) as a strategy process? If so, you are leaving growth on the table. Successful strategy is not just about reacting to the market but proactively managing key business pressures. The PTA (Pressures, Trends, Actions) Assessment provides a framework to focus your growth strategy where it matters most.

Competitive Pressure
1. List your top competitors and their strengths and vulnerabilities. Using that, build out action steps for sales and marketing to neutralize their strengths and exploit their vulnerabilities.
2. Evaluate your products and services against competitors. Identify and leverage your unique advantages.
3. Conduct customer depth interviews to discover what truly influences buying decisions.
Vendor and Supplier Pressure
1. Evaluate the abundance or scarcity of quality suppliers, assess their strength — can they drive up prices or limit supply?
2. Strengthen partnerships where mutual advantages exist and negotiate leverage where they don’t.
3. Evaluate alternatives to mitigate reliance on a single supplier.
Customer Pressure
1. Analyze how easily customers can switch to competitors and build strategies to increase loyalty. Evaluate the cost for customers to switch to competitors.
2. Develop retention programs and incentives that make your offering “stickier.”
3. Identify untapped market segments and define steps to capture them.
The Pressure and Potential of New Competition or Alternatives
1. Assess the likelihood and ease with which new competitors could enter your market.
2. Increase barriers to entry by strengthening brand recognition, patents or proprietary processes.
3. Monitor emerging technologies that could disrupt your industry and take preemptive action.
Employee and Talent Pressures
1. Identify workforce pressures — are you facing skill shortages, retention issues or union demands?
2. Evaluate whether your talent advantage comes from hiring top-tier candidates or from developing internal expertise.
3. Invest in unique training and development programs to build a workforce that is a strategic asset not a liability.
Substitution Pressure
1. Determine how easily customers would be able to replace your offering with another solution.
2. Find ways to increase reliance on your company by becoming the most valuable or only provider of a key service.
3. Strengthen your brand to ensure customers view you as the default choice.
Pressure From Technological and Resource Changes
1. Identify critical technologies and data sources that are evolving in your industry.
2. Protect or gain ownership over essential information or tech assets.
3. Develop proprietary systems or solutions that can create a sustainable competitive advantage.

The PTA Strategy Process: Turning Pressure into Action

Analyze Past Trends
1. Identify shifts over the past three to 10 years in competition, supply chain, customer behavior and technology.
2. Have your competitive pressures intensified? Have suppliers gained leverage?
Assess Current Trends
1. What trends are dominating today? Are competitors consolidating or expanding?
2. Are customers demanding lower prices or higher customization?
Predict Future Trends
1. What’s next? Is artificial intelligence (AI) about to disrupt your sector? Will new regulations reshape your supply chain?
2. Identify potential threats and strategize proactive responses.
Prioritize Strategic Actions
1. Develop jujitsu-like strategies to turn external pressures into internal advantages.
2. Prioritize actions that are going to enhance profitability and market leadership.

My PTA Assessment lets you lead rather than react. Strategy means learning the forces shaping your industry and using them to create advantage. Prioritize, take action and dominate your market.

Remember, an annual strategic planning retreat is an event and an oxymoron, while self-assessment like the above is a process. As the leader, it’s best for you to begin the above privately with outside guidance and then facilitate a process. Call me, I’m glad to help.

Mark Faust
(513) 621-8000
mark@em1990.com
@markfaustsr

30 Minutes With Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins In Her First Week On the Job

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:13:59 GMT

Since Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 , Brooke Rollins has been focused on how to build the teams and the plans that impact the trajectory of agriculture and rural America. On that day, while en route with her husband and four teenagers in their motor home to Auburn, Ala., for the Texas A&M football game, she got a call from now President Donald Trump. The purpose of his call: She was his top choice to fill his final significant cabinet position, Secretary of Agriculture.

Obviously, she had to wait for confirmation, which came last week on Feb.13 when the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed her as the 33^rd Secretary of Agriculture , but since that Saturday before Thanksgiving, she’s been on the go with an accelerated enthusiasm to understand the significant challenges facing rural communities that lost 147,000 family farms between 2017 and 2022 and why the cost of inputs are up 30% as exports are down $37 billion this year and likely to fall further in the months to come.

“This is a crisis, and this is something that I understand inherently,” Rollins said to kick off Top Producer Summit in Kansas City on Tuesday. “My promise to you is this, and my commitment will never waver, that every minute of every day for the next four years I will do everything within my power, with hopefully God’s hand on all of us and our work, to ensure we are not just entering the golden age for America, as my boss, President Trump, likes to say, but we are entering the golden age for agriculture.”

What Has Rollins Been Up to the Past Four Years?
Secretary Rollins and President Trump have worked together for almost eight years. She was in the West Wing with him for years two, three and four of his first term running his domestic policy agenda.

“This real estate guy from New York City brought that vision to life, and then in the last term, was able to really do some remarkable things,” Rollins said in regard to President Trump returning power to the people who just want a chance at the American dream. “I call it the great pause, the four years in between term one and term two. But I think the great pause allowed very intentional planning. It allowed a courageous and bold leader in President Trump to become a fearless leader and to do everything he can to bring America back to greatness.”

In the “dark days of January 2021,” as she described, Secretary Rollins helped launch the America First Policy Institute, a think tank established by former Trump officials to promote conservative policies. The idea was that those policies that made America great in Trump’s first term would continue indefinitely, not just for a second term, but for four years, eight years or 36 years, Rollins described.

First Week On the Job
Since being confirmed last week, Secretary Rollins has been in the Washington, D.C., USDA office for a few hours, but most of her time has been spent in Kentucky at National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and Gallrein Farms and in Kansas visiting Finney’s County Feeder, High Plains Ponderosa Dairy and the National Beef Packing Plant .

Describing herself as “a reader and a studier,” Rollins seems adamant to hear firsthand from farmers and ranchers. She referenced her visits to the dairy farm and National Beef facility as inspiring, in a good way but also in a way that helps her understand the real challenges at hand.

Speaking to the crowd at Top Producer Summit, she shared her appreciation for the “entrepreneurial American game changers” who are doing their part to feed the world.

“It is so inspiring and a reminder of the very beginning of our country.” Rollins said. “Our revolution was fought by farmers, our Founding Fathers, like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The backbone of the great American experiment is this community.”

Thank you @topproducermag for hosting @RogerMarshallMD and me in Kansas City, Missouri, with 1,000 of the Top Producers from across the US to talk about issues like expanding trade access and cutting regulatory red tape for farmers.

Biden’s ZERO trade deals and inflationary… pic.twitter.com/ejMxKxkRMG
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 19, 2025

Farmer Q&A
Watch and listen to what Secretary Rollins, as well as Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, had to say on stage at Top Producer Summit about these 7 topics:

Trade and tariffs — “ Let’s go barnstorm the world , and let’s go find some more trade partners and access [to market opportunities],” Rollins said.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts and modernizing USDA — “DOGE is a very valid and important effort across all government. The stories of waste and abuse were really just, not USDA specific but across government, beginning,” Rollins said.
Federal programs, such as CSP and EQIP — “Our commitment is that if there have been commitments made, those will be honored. Getting our arms around all of that right now is really, really, important. Again, going back to the President’s heart and commitment to our farmers, I feel confident we will be able to solve any issues that are in front of our ag community, that are potentially being compromised by the DOGE effort, while at the same time recognizing how very, very important it is,” Rollins said.
Future of USDA — “There’s no question USDA needs some modernization. I’m just beginning to lean into that as well,” Rollins said. USDA has 106,000 employees and 29 departments. “The Secretary is taking over a department where only 6% of the [D.C.] people work in the office,” Marshall added.
Renewable fuels — Prior to President Trump’s first term, he was “the first major candidate to support biofuels, and I think that carried him through Iowa in many ways. … We’ve got E15 year-round. I think that gives us some certainty as well. … The President is supporting that. I think we’re trying to figure out how to save 45Z, but we can’t let China benefit from it. Right now, China is benefiting more from [45Z] than my farmers and ranchers are, so we’ve got to fix that,” Marshall says.
Immigration policies and availability of long-term labor — “I have a full-bodied understanding of the challenges within the labor market, and I believe the President does too. … I believe that we will very soon be talking about it again. Clearly, the H-2A program needs significant reform, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer, she’s going through the [confirmation] process right now. … Hopefully she’ll get her vote very soon. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Rollins said.
Trump’s cabinet members — “Our cabinet is comprised of people that have been working together and have been friends and colleagues for years, with a few exceptions. Bobby Kennedy is a new friend, but Lee Zeldin and I worked together in America First Works and America First Policy Institute for the last almost four years, Linda McMahon in education and John Brooks — these are our people,” Rollins said.

Don't Fall Into The Trap Of Confusing A Lack Of Growth With Stability

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 12:07:00 GMT

Many multigenerational family businesses have faced the bitter reality of either selling out or closing down. What these organizations mistook for stability was, in fact, a slow death spiral of not setting new growth and innovation goals.

This mirrors a mistake amateur pilots can make of relying solely on Visual Flight Rules (VFR) when navigating through thick clouds instead of trusting their Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). By relying on visual cues instead of dashboard instruments, they might already be in an unrecoverable dive toward the ground once they regain sight.

In business, relying solely on intuition or visible metrics can lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Betrayal of Senses
As business leaders, our instincts and experiences are invaluable, but they are not infallible. Just as a pilot must trust their instruments, leaders need tools that provide deeper insights. Checkpoints of balance, governance frameworks, and trusted advisers who challenge decisions help avoid blind spots.

Business, like flight, requires a combination of both VFR and IFR. Leaders must see through observable data and feel the pulse of their organization, but they must also rely on instruments such as depth interviews, echeloned strategy dialogues, growth boards and culture levers to maintain a clear trajectory for growth and innovation.

Synergistic Growth
When strategy, culture and innovation work together, they create exponential growth opportunities. A thoughtful strategy, when clearly communicated, invigorates and motivates the organization. This aligns with a sharp focus on the company’s higher purpose, creating a culture of trust and engagement.

A great strategy doesn’t just promise more profit for owners; it delivers increased value for stakeholders and reinvestment capital for the business. This builds confidence, which, in turn, drives innovation. Effective innovation isn’t just profitable; it’s good for the team. Employees find satisfaction in creating something better, more productive and more rewarding.

The Silent Driver of Success
Great cultures are designed with intention. Companies listed as “Best Places to Work” foster engagement, openness and trust. However, a great culture alone is insufficient. When it is synergistic with strategic objectives and innovation goals, the entire organization thrives.

As science continues to prove, happier employees who are under less stress are able to think more clearly, innovate more freely and work more productively. A synergistic culture in the workplace ultimately helps fuel the company’s strategic and innovative pursuits.

Don’t let your business rely solely on visible metrics or gut instincts. Equip yourself with the tools and strategies that illuminate hidden opportunities and risks.

Your business doesn’t have to navigate blindly through the clouds. With the right tools and strategies, you can achieve lasting success and growth.

If you’re looking for innovation or strategy improvement tools, call me. I’d be delighted to send you resources that can help transform your organization.

Mark Faust
(513) 621-8000
mark@em1990.com
@markfaustsr

BREAKING: USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Sen. Roger Marshall to Join Farmers At Top Producer Summit

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 21:24:21 GMT

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas will speak Tuesday morning at this week’s Top Producer Summit in Kansas City. The event is among the secretary’s first public appearances since being confirmed Feb. 13 . The fireside chat will cover key topics driving the future of agriculture.

A one-day pass to the event is available to give the agriculture industry a chance to hear Secretary Rollins share her vision for U.S. agriculture. Advanced registration is required due to security protocols. Register now with discount code ONEDAY to receive the special rate.

Secretary Rollins, originally from Glen Rose, Texas, serves as the 33rd Secretary of Agriculture. Most recently, she was founder, president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute. During President Donald Trump’s first administration, she was the director of the Domestic Policy Council and assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives in the White House. She also previously served as director of the Office of American Innovation.

Sen. Marshall is a physician and U.S. Senator for Kansas. As a fifth-generation farmer from Butler County, Sen. Marshall became the first in his family to attend college. In the Senate, he serves on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. He is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources and a member of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research.

Tickets are still available to attend the entire Top Producer Summit , which is agriculture’s premier educational and networking event for forward-thinking farmers and ranchers. The event will bring producers of nearly a dozen commodities together at the Loews Kansas City Hotel to share business opportunities and ideas for taking their operations to the next level.

In addition to the fireside chat with Secretary Rollins and Sen. Marshall, the agenda includes:

The Future of Farming with Byron Reese, futurist, technologist and entrepreneur
Conquer Decision Paralysis with Rena Striegel, Transition Point Business Advisors
How Income Taxes May Change Due To The Election with CPA Paul Neiffer
Land Diversification: What to Know Before Exploring Renewable Energy and Conservation Opportunities with Quint Shambaugh, Pinion
What’s Ahead for Farm Input Pricing with Sam Taylor, Rabo AgriFinance
What to Watch With the Weather in 2025 with Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Conduit Ag
Global Fertilizer Market Overview: What It Means At Your Farm Gate with Josh Linville, StoneX

Some of the nation’s most outstanding farm operations will be recognized, including winners of the 2025 Top Producer of the Year award , the 2025 Women in Ag award and the 2025 Next Gen award .

Find Out The 'Best Buy' In Crop Insurance This Year

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 16:08:02 GMT

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

“I think this is probably the most revolutionary change we’ve seen in crop insurance here in the Midwest in 15 years–some of it with federal products and some of it with private products,” Jansen says.

He recently joined the Top Producer podcast with host Paul Neiffer to explain some of those changes, as well as how you can get the most bang for your buck in coverage.

“ECO (Enhanced Coverage Option) had a 44% subsidy, and that’s now 65%. ECO is, mathematically, probably the best buy we can have in crop insurance today,” Jansen says. “We’ve had some people who are 85% buyers and dropped down to 80% so they could afford the ECO. Some have used SCO (Supplemental Coverage Option), for corn in particular, in order to be able to afford the ECO.”

It’s important to note ECO is a county-based private product - meaning it pays a loss based on your county’s yield or revenue losses instead of your individual numbers. But Jansen says that shouldn’t necessarily scare you off.

“I think the biggest mistake people make when looking at these county-based products is they say, ‘Well, my APH (Actual Production History) is above the county, so I should be looking at this product.’ or ‘My APH is below the county, so I can insure a lot more.’ In either case, it’s the correlation between you and the county that means far more. When the county goes up, do we go up with it? Or, more importantly, when the county goes down, do we go down together,” he explains. “Some farming operations just mirror the county really easily, and some almost go in the opposite direction. That tells you the county-based product isn’t that attractive.”

Catch up on episodes of the Top Producer podcast with Farm CPA Paul Neiffer

If you decide to take advantage of ECO, your premiums could be a 6:1 ratio - depending on where you live. For example, a farmer in Illinois might pay $17 in ECO premiums to get $92 of liability on an acre of corn.

“Only the farmer can determine whether the premium is worth the advantage at that point in time, but has definitely created a tremendous amount of buzz,” Jansen says.

He adds a similar product, called MCO, will be hitting the marketplace soon.

Your Next Read: This is the Year to Re-Evaluate Your Crop Insurance

Rabobank: Tighter Margins Globally For Row Crop Farmers in 2024

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:27:46 GMT

Ag analysts at Rabobank expect operating margins for row crop producers to continue to contract in 2024. The difference in next year’s outlook compared to the past two years is favorable commodity prices buffered the effect. Rabobank says things may change next year.

The bank expects a more positive outlook for soybeans than corn and wheat in 2024.

In a recent report, Bruno Fonseca , senior analyst on the global farm inputs team, details: “Soybean farmers are likely to achieve good margins in the coming season. However, corn farmers will feel their margins pressured by ample supply, while wheat farmers are unlikely to see improved margins despite declining costs.”

His global margin outlook for the row crops includes:

“The Only Certainty is Price Volatility”

Fonseca writes, “In terms of price risk, the corn market exhibits the least upside potential, with wheat presenting the highest. Soybeans fall in between, indicating an equal likelihood of upside and downside risk. The prevailing market uncertainty ensures that price volatility is an inevitable certainty.”

The report shares markets are at a crossroads — prices could move in either direction.

Fonseca is watching crop production from North America and South America, which have been strong and prevented global stocks declining. He notes global domestic demand for key crops declined for the third time since 1980/81.

He details, “Corn and soybean stocks increased, while wheat and rice stocks continue declining. Weather challenges and geopolitical instability coupled with economic uncertainty prompt consideration of a risk premium in the market.”

One risk area to continue to watch is the Black Sea region.

“Despite Ukraine’s comparable or improved corn and wheat crops, the discontinuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative has cut off a crucial export gateway,” Fonseca writes. “Ukraine, once heavily reliant on Black Sea ports, has diligently diversified, now dispatching around 60% of its commodities via seaports. Despite ongoing challenges from war, Ukraine’s agricultural exports face impediments, with bans from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary persisting despite the EU lifting restrictions on September 15.”

Is Now The Time To Consider Conventional Corn?

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:30:10 GMT

As Patrick Shivers talked with his banker in preparation for his 2024 corn crop, the conversation about potential return on investment was sobering.

“He said if I make 200-bu. corn, I’d only lose a little money,” says Shivers, a fourth-generation farmer from southwest Georgia.

He resolved to learn how to at least break even this year. “You’ve either got to make a higher yield, farm more acres or spend less,” Shivers says.

He decided to double down on input costs and try a conventional corn hybrid planted side-by-side with a traited (GMO) hybrid on 110 acres.

Given current commodity prices, he doesn’t expect either hybrid to be profitable. Rather, this is a learning opportunity for the future.

“I did the math, and I’ve got to make 18 more bushels per acre with the traited corn than with the conventional hybrid to break even,” Shivers says.

He is sharing his experiences from planting through harvesting both hybrids via YouTube .

Making Plans For Next Season

Like Shivers, Joe Budreau is seeing other farmers try conventional corn because of poor commodity prices.

“I’m not saying non-GMO is going to take over every acre in the country, but a lot more farmers are interested in it because of input costs, and they want to know how to manage it successfully,” says Budreau, a certified crop adviser for Spectrum Non-GMO Seed.

The percentage of farmers planting conventional corn hybrids this year is a challenge to determine. USDA reports 90% of corn planted in the U.S. in 2024 was from genetically engineered seed and, specifically, is herbicide tolerant. In addition, 86% of U.S. corn acres planted this year contained an insect-resistant Bt trait.

Start With ROI

The 2025 seed-buying process is already ramping up in many parts of the country. Melissa Bell, AgReliant Genetics’ national agronomy leader, says farmers aren’t simply buying the cheapest seed available.

“Farmers want value, but they’re still looking at what products best fit their needs on their acres, whether conventional or traited, and that’s truly no different than any other year,” Bell says.

Ken Ferrie says to start the seed selection process by determining your return on investment for each hybrid.

“On one hand, the decrease in seed costs can be substantial – you can save $30 to $70 upfront going with a conventional hybrid,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “But you take a lot of great tools out of the equation with non-GMO seed.”

“On one hand, the decrease in seed costs can be substantial – you can save $30 to $70 upfront going with a conventional hybrid,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “But you take a lot of great tools out of the equation with non-GMO seed.”

(Darrell Smith)

Consider Weed Control

Keep in mind products containing glyphosate and glufosinate cannot be used in conventional cornfields.

“The question I get most often from farmers is, ‘How do I control weeds,’” Budreau says. “I tell everyone a good pre-emergent herbicide with good residual activity on your specific weed issues is a must with non-GMO corn.”

Ferrie adds that everyone on your team needs to be on the same page.

“Say you’ve got 10 Liberty cornfields and three conventional cornfields and the three conventional ones get sprayed with Liberty. You’re going to have a problem,” he says.

Also consider if your conventional herbicide program will take out resistant weeds, or you might risk adding herbicide-resistant weed seeds to your weed seedbank.

“That might not necessarily hurt corn yields this year, but it’s going to make weed control a headache for you two or three years down the road,” Ferrie says.

Evaluate Insect Pressure

If you don’t have heavy European corn borer or corn rootworm pressure, you might be able to forgo the use of a soil insecticide. That’s potentially a $30-plus savings per acre.

Budreau says farmers can get good cost-effective control of corn borer if it’s caught early, but that’s not the case for any of the corn rootworm species. If you don’t know if you have corn rootworm actively feeding on corn, Ferrie advises digging up some plants, washing the roots and evaluating them now.

“If there’s been a lot of feeding, that’s an indicator you’ll likely need to apply a soil insecticide if you plant conventional hybrids next spring,” he says.

Corn rootworm and corn borer numbers tend to rebound in fields planted to conventional corn after about three years, Ferrie adds, if they’ve been prevalent in your area before.

Make sure you work out your plan in advance of needing to address pests. “What product are you going to use? What’s the cost, who will be able to apply it and will they be timely?” he asks. “Your contingency plan needs to be thought through now, not when you need to implement it.”

Market Opportunities

Along with potential seed savings, herbicide and insecticide costs, some farmers have access to markets that will pay a premium for non-GMO corn, usually near 30¢ to 60¢ per bushel.

Ferrie cautions if you get a contract for non-GMO corn, you have to deliver a product that, usually, is about 98% pure. You also will likely have some segregation and handling requirements.

To address the purity issue, Ferrie says some farmers will harvest the first 24 rows of their conventional hybrids and have the elevator test them. If you opt to not test upfront, he says it’s still important to hold onto a sample of the seed corn you planted so you can run tests later, if needed.

If you haven’t used a conventional hybrid before, Budreau says now is the time to ask your sales rep questions.

“Talk soil types, tillage practices, populations, soil topography and yield goals,” he advises. “Look at test plot data. Go see the hybrids in the field, if you can. Ask a lot of pointed questions. A good seedsman will help you get the right hybrid on the right acre.

Your Next Read: How To Plan For Next Year’s Crop With Extreme Weather In Mind

Leaders in Ag: Anne Runkel Provides the Big Picture and Then Allows Her Team to Get to Work

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:30:09 GMT

Anne Runkel and her team of scientists and engineers are dedicated to developing science-based biological solutions for agriculture. Runkel received her Ph.D. in plant biology at the University of California, Berkeley, contributing to the field of plant cell and molecular biology. She has a long history of conducting research in the field of plant and microbial biology.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: I provide clear direction and the big picture, but my team is really self-directed. Especially in innovation, it’s important to have space to be creative and solve problems on their own. That’s usually where you find the best solution.

Q: From a leadership standpoint, what have you learned in your position?

A: You start with a great idea but what really what ends up differentiating it into something that makes it to market or solves a real problem is working with different people and collaborating. The execution brings the solution to success.

Q: What strategies do you employ to help bring your team together?

A: People become close as a team when they work on something hard together, so it helps to find opportunities for them to have ownership and solve things together. That’s where I made some of the best connections with my team members. You find the areas where you’re strong and where others can fill the gaps.

Q: What are two of your favorite business tools?

A: My team is from Spain to Florida to North Carolina, and then we partner with the global Mosaic business, so India and China. The ability to speak to one another on video chat is important. But then the other tools I really like are organizing systems that don’t require you necessarily to always have a conversation. You can go and check the status of a project, or update it so that everyone in the business or group that’s working on something is contributing to it.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

A: I had a mentor who said, “Never say yes — but.” You have to be open-minded to opportunities that might not initially seem exciting or might seem problematic in some way. It’s important to pause and think about it first. The other piece of advice I’ve gotten is to be ruthless with your time management. Especially in a leadership position, you’re going to have many different directions and opportunities to do lots of things. You need to focus that time or none of it gets finished.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just getting started in an ag career?

A: One of the things that was very impactful for me was to be out in the field. Find opportunities to shadow, to help out, to volunteer, wherever you’ll meet people who are actually in the space and spend time in the field. For innovation, the biggest breakthroughs are going to be where you’re really solving a problem a grower has or retailer has, and it’s very difficult to see that if you’re not there.

Your Next Read — Leaders in Ag: Rena Striegel Shares Her Thoughts on Leading With Intention

Ag Experts: The Election is Big, New Farm Bill is Bigger

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:30:08 GMT

The start of a new school year and the warm glow of Friday Night Lights signals the end of summer and the start of fall.

Those same indicators also portend – every four years, anyways – the impending presidential election season . And while presidential politics are certainly influential within the agriculture industry at large, our nation’s farmers currently have a much more pressing need in today’s faltering farm economy: passage of a new Farm Bill.

There hasn’t been a five-year Farm Bill since 2018, and that legislative extension is about to be sidelined by its own expiration.

When can farmers expect a new Farm Bill?
Back in June, Farm Journal asked its Ag Economists Monthly Monitor panel when they expected passage of a new Farm Bill. A combined 68% of the 70 experts surveyed indicated it could be passed in 2025, while just 19% said it could happen before the end of the year. Perhaps the worst-case scenario – nothing on the books until 2026 – is the prediction of 13% of those surveyed.

Farm leaders are beginning to grow impatient, pacing their respective sidelines like the hot seated, anxious head coach trying to rally the troops for that one last, potentially magical two-minute drill that would get this Farm Bill into the end zone. That would signify a big win for farmers, as well as the companies that help them get a quality crop into and out of the ground each year.

As of today, however, it feels like more of a Hail Mary than a one-yard Tush Push to get it over the goal line.

Making the Case
“We need a proper Farm Bill,” states Kurt Coffey, Case IH, vice president – North America. “We need to work beyond an extension and get a farm bill.

“Whether that happens later in the year, during the lame duck period – depending on who’s elected, or next year – the extension for funding that safety net goes through the end of 2024.” he adds. “So, whether we get an extension, the safety net side of crop insurance and the other things that come with it, we need to have that grassroots mobilization.”

Paul Neiffer – The Farm CPA – also strongly supports American agriculture getting the certainty that a new Farm Bill would provide . The agricultural economy is seemingly in a recession, and without an updated Farm Bill, farmers may struggle even more with net farm income expected to be substantially lower in 2025, and existing crop insurance no longer able to provide sufficient relief.

Then, if the upcoming election alters the political landscape in Congress – some are predicting control of the Senate and House could potentially flip-flop – Neiffer thinks that could cause further delay and legislative gridlock.

This whole deal could end up looking like yet another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill coming down on October 1, and then one more in 2025, which nobody really wants, Neiffer believes.

“It’s going to be a struggle,” Neiffer told AgriTalk’s Chip Flory recently. “You know, right now a lot of farmers are still okay for this year, in that we have a higher crop insurance price. But you know, when we go into next year and let’s say the projected price on corn is $3.50 and soybeans are $9. Crop insurance is not going to help us next year.”

Neiffer also shared a troubling development that he’s heard. USDA is reportedly asking some farmers to repay ERP (Emergency Relief Program) payments due to issues with crop insurance coverage on certain acres. This has created additional financial stress for farmers who received these payments based on previous calculations.

“Because once you fail to insure one acre – we’re talking one acre – but once you fail to insure one acre, they go back and recalculate your payment,” he explains. “Now instead of qualifying for the 10% loss coverage, you now must qualify for the 30% loss coverage. So therefore, you don’t qualify for any payment. You have got to pay the full amount back.

“In parts of the Midwest, that is a huge, huge deal,” Neiffer adds, noting he has heard this directly from a handful of farmers and crop insurance agents.

No matter your view of things: analyst, farmer, equipment manufacturer, or even ag retail business leader, we can all agree on one thing. America needs a new Farm Bill, sooner rather than later.

“There needs to be resolution,” Landus CEO Matt Carstens recently told CNBC’s The Exchange. “Farmers are anxious for that and getting it right, and ensuring that it happens is as important as anything right now.”

Your Next Read: Crop Insurance Provides Price Security For U.S. Farmers That’s Not Available To Counterparts In Other Countries

Leadership Advice: Ask For Honest Feedback

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:29:44 GMT

Since receiving his Masters of Entomology from the University of Arkansas, Keith Vodrazka has served over 20 years in a number of U.S. and global agribusiness roles. Today, he’s leading Evoia, a biostimulant business that uses fire to turn waste wood chips into biochar and then extracts the plant beneficial compounds for use as a liquid seed treatment. It’s an entrepreneurial startup with big plans and different leadership challenges than he experienced during his days in big agribusiness.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: “I would call it authenticity. Talk is cheap — it must be backed with action. I think part of what goes with that is integrity, and doing what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it. I found when leaders did that, I trusted them more and the effect of that trust on the organization was very beneficial.”

Q: What’s the most challenging thing about running a ‘new’ brand or company?

A: “As a smaller company, losing focus and having complexity are two things that can really take us way off track. There’s always the temptation to chase a shiny object. There’s a lot of new, innovative, creative ideas about how to approach the market with things like biostimulants and biofertilizers. The most challenging thing is staying focused on what we need to accomplish without being distracted. Secondly, I think it’s hard to keep things simple or reduce complexity.”

Q: What are your favorite business tools?

A: “I like something I can use for good communication and collaboration and something to keep up with numbers. The ability to hop on Microsoft Teams and communicate easily with people, not just in the U.S., but even globally, is of immense value. I’m also an old Excel or spreadsheets fan.”

Q: What does success look like to you?

A: “We measure success by hitting numbers, achieving goals or reaching key milestones. But if you leave it at just numbers, you’re missing something. We all have to deliver some value to stakeholders. That’s obvious, but sometimes we miss the fact that success also has to be measured in terms of having an organization of people that are inspired, passionate and eager to come to work.”

Q: What’s your best advice for others looking to take on a leadership role?

A: “Get honest feedback. You need to ask for it, and I don’t think we do that enough. I was in a situational analysis group where they asked: “If you were in this or that situation, what would you do?” Some senior leaders in the organization were there making observations to tell you where you could improve. It had such a positive impact on me that I’ve never forgotten it.”

Q: How do you relax and de-stress?

A: “Spending time with my three grandchildren isn’t always de-stressing, but it is in the sense that you get the perspective of the world they see. Another way, when I have more time, is I like to go fly fishing.”

How Do You Know When Agriculture Is In A Recession?

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 19:38:23 GMT

Agriculture can sometimes act as a buffer during broader economic recessions, as demand for essential food items tends to remain relatively stable. However, when multiple indicators align, it can signal a recession in the agricultural sector.

According to analysts and economists, pay particular attention to the following:

Declining farm income. A significant drop in net farm income is a major sign. For example, USDA forecasts another major decline in farm income for 2024, on top of the big decline in 2023. That would be the largest ever two-year decline.
Sharply declining commodity prices. Weak prices for major crops and livestock products can indicate economic trouble for farmers. Crop prices have seen sharply declining prices, with the meat sector showing continued strength.
Elevated input prices costs. When input costs such as fertilizer, fuel and labor remain elevated while commodity prices fall, it squeezes farm profitability.
Reduced agricultural exports. Slowing exports and a growing trade deficit in agriculture can signal economic challenges. USDA forecasts the third straight year of a U.S. ag trade deficit , with the fiscal year 2025 at $42.5 billion.
Debt vs. cash flow. Increasing farm debt relative to cash flow combined with higher borrowing costs due to interest rate increases can strain farm finances.
Weakening credit conditions. Lower repayment rates on farm loans and increased loan renewals/extensions can indicate financial stress.
Declining demand for agricultural products. Reduced consumer spending on discretionary food items during broader economic recessions can impact certain agricultural sectors.
Falling farmland values. Higher interest rates and lower farm profitability can lead to downward pressure on land prices .
Increased inventory levels. Growing stockpiles of crops and livestock products can spur further price declines.
Widespread financial stress. When a large number of farmers across different regions and commodity sectors experience financial difficulties simultaneously it can point to an industry-wide recession.

Your Next Read: More Than 50% of Ag Economists Now Think the U.S. Ag Economy is Already In a Recession

Landus Launches New Health Insurance Program, Details Recent Acquisitions

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:07:44 GMT

Landus, an Iowa-based agriculture solutions and farm technology provider, has announced affordable, farmer-focused health coverage options are now available through its new Landus Health and Conduit Health program.

The initiative is powered by Momentum Ag, a Division of Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC, and will provide comprehensive health insurance coverage through a nationwide provider network, ensuring health care is affordable and accessible for thousands of farmers across the nation.

Momentum Ag may sound familiar to some readers. Back in January, FBN spun off its health insurance project to Patriot Growth Services , which rebranded the FBN health insurance program under the Momentum Ag moniker.

According to sources with direct knowledge of the process, Landus had previously come to a tentative agreement with a separate entity to underwrite its health insurance program, but Landus and the unnamed entity mutually decided to part ways due to lack of coverage for accidents involving motorized vehicles. Landus then pivoted to an alternative partner to launch the program, with Momentum Ag entering the equation.

According to a Landus press release, health insurance programs for farmers and their employees have been overwhelmingly expensive, and coverage has been limited across the ag industry, with farmers paying the majority of expenses out of pocket. Landus Health and Conduit Health makes health coverage available for farming operations of any size and is specifically designed with rural families’ needs in mind, the cooperative adds.

“There are plenty of people out there that are thinking about what’s happening now, but one of the key advantages is going to be investing in the farmer themselves,” says Dehra Harris, senior director - training and performance. “One of the biggest changes is actually having affordable health care insurance, and we need to make models where it comes to you. Those resources don’t mean that you’re leaving the farm for five hours at a time. This is the stuff that actually works for you.”

Landus Health and Conduit Health offers, among other benefits:

Comprehensive Coverage: Program includes $0 preventative and telemedicine along with care coordination and disease management for chronic conditions.
At-Home Access to Care: All farmers who sign up for Landus Health or Conduit Health will receive a TytoCare kit for convenient, efficient at-home access to health providers and diagnoses regardless of proximity to provider locations. According to Landus representatives, enrolled farmers, their employees, and their families can be seen by a medical professional virtually with no upfront co-pay expense via the TytoCare kit.
Affordable Program Options: Multiple program options are offered to fit every budget with solutions for employee only, employee/spouse, employee/children, or family.
Nationwide Provider Network: Available options use the Cigna nationwide network, so it’s easy to find an in-network provider wherever you are.

“We listened to our farmers. Rural vitality is central to our mission here at Landus, and affordable, high quality health coverage is a key part of that,” said Matt Carstens, Landus and Conduit president & CEO. “I look forward to partnering with a farmer-focused company like Momentum Ag to get this critical support in the hands of farmers.”

Additional developments

Landus also shared the following news items this week:

The acquisition of DSM Advantage, a strategic move that marks the launch of a new freight brokering division, Landus Advantage. The cooperative says the addition will increase its ability to support farmers with quality freight service year-round. By entering the freight brokering industry, Landus is now positioned to offer its farmer-members and other customers competitive freight rates, reliable service, and a streamlined experience, according to the cooperative.
The acquisition of independent, Iowa-based distributor Wickman Chemical, which Landus says will bolster a variety of chemical products and service offerings for customers in Iowa and Kansas. The acquisition also opens up Wickman Chemical’s customer base to have access to all that Landus has to offer. The purchase agreement will go into effect on October 1, 2024.
A collaborative venture with Wessels Oil Company to spur the creation of Landus Energy, which the cooperative says will significantly enhance the customer experience for both Landus and Wessels Oil Co. and deliver energy products (off-road diesel, regular diesel, gasoline, LP, etc.) to Landus customers.

The financial terms of both deals were not disclosed as of press time.

You can visit Landus.ag to learn more.

Your Next Read: How Landus Is Blazing A New Path in Ag Retail

5 Questions To Challenge Your Comfort With Risk

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 18:37:53 GMT

“If you’re not first, you’re last” —Ricky Bobby

It is good to be first — first place at the county fair, first in line at Thanksgiving or first in a race. In agriculture, we’re often called to be first at adopting something new, but it can be hard to make a big change knowing so much is riding on the decisions made each year.

While being an early adopter has its risks, it also has its fair share of advantages.

Innovation Leadership
Early adopters are often seen as leaders. Incorporating new products and services before they are proven is certainly a rare thing in a business that has much to do with commoditization and price taking. But standing out could have its advantages. I once had a client who loved to be seen as a leader and was always testing a “beta” product. I assume he does a lot with carbon credit programs.

Brand Reputation
Being an innovative thinker can also be part of your operation’s brand. While a strong care for the legacy of the past is inherent in most farmers, being open to the future and working to stay relevant could sure help bridge the gap in those multigenerational conversations.

Regulatory Preparedness
Early adopters have the advantage of being well-prepared for future regulations. Consider the much talked about SCOPE 3 in the supply chain. While the ruling on it is in flux, growers who begin to consider and adopt ways to track emissions or implement reduction strategies could have the necessary systems and processes in place to comply with potential future regulations.

Learning Curve
By starting early, individuals and businesses have more time to learn and refine their strategies for a changing market rather than having to catch up when they are behind on what has become the norm. Early adopters often tend to be leaders who are both adaptable people and have the capacity to bring on something new and build it into their production system with relative ease.

Competitive Edge
Being among the first to adopt new technologies allows those who do to differentiate themselves from competitors and demonstrate their commitment to staying ahead of the curve. This can help attract young and ambitious talent or impress the next landowner you’re looking to bring on.

While this list provides a few advantages, being an early adopter is really about the situation, the financial pros and cons, and the operational capacity to bring in the new system or process. It’s called calculated risk.

To evaluate your personal comfort with risk and challenge yourself to take the advantages of being an early adopter, here are five questions to think about:

Am I always seeking ideas, or am I the one who comes up with the new tool and then seeks a supplier?
Do I often get bored or frustrated with current conditions, technology or equipment?
What are the most recent risks I took in the business, and did I consider them risks or innovations at the time?
When evaluating my last season, do I often ask myself what is something new that I tried and how did it go?
Do I believe the benefits to innovating out weigh the value and stability of remaining the same?

The Nation's Largest Independent Crop Insurance Provider Has Been Acquired

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 22:50:32 GMT

Change is in the air as Silveus — the nation’s largest independent crop insurance provider — announced its acquisition by Risk Strategies, a private insurance brokerage and risk management adviser, at the end of May.

Company leaders share this decision is mutually beneficial for both parties and came as a result of Silveus’ continued growth as well as Risk Strategies’ interest in expanding into agriculture.

“We’ve experienced growth year after year, and we’re a small-town insurance agency that’s working in a big market,” says co-owner Scott Silveus. “We need some of the resources, help and wisdom that comes from a larger insurance broker with the know how to navigate growth into the future.”

Enhanced Offerings

Despite being a small-town agency, Silveus is made up of about 80 employees and offers more than 40 private and federal crop insurance products to clients spanning 40 states. All employees and products are expected to carry over into Risk Strategies, and customers will now have access to Risk Strategies’ wider scope of products as well.

“Really very little is changing. We’re continuing the day after the sale in a very similar manner to what we did the day before the sale with the same leadership, the same core values and the same direction,” Silveus says. “Risk Strategies will allow us to find some of their current customers that may have a need for crop insurance, and then there’s a lot of areas where we are not the experts, but our agricultural customers could benefit. That’s where I think the Risk Strategies folks are going to be a big value add.”

John Scroope, national director of retail operations at Risk Strategies, adds, “It’s not just let’s do everything the same way we did the day before, but how do we try to make one plus one equal a little bit more than two?”

Checking All The Boxes

The idea of adding additional value for their current customer base, but without compromising company culture, was top of mind as Silveus began its search for a partner two years ago. The leaders chose Risk Strategies – which houses more than 30 other specialty practices – due to its emphasis on enhancing the company, not changing it.

“They genuinely care about the unique cultures of the insurance agencies that become part of Risk Strategies,” Silveus says. “We have a great culture, a great leadership team and a great group of agents and salespeople. Their No. 1 priority is keeping that going and intact so we can continue to serve American farmers the way we have been for the nearly 80 years.”

For Risk Strategies, the team from Silveus will serve as experts guiding the company into the crop insurance sector.

“There’s an incredible opportunity for us through Silveus to put a foot in the door into the agricultural market,” Scroope says. “You couldn’t find more dedicated specialists to crop insurance than Silveus. We want to grow with their guidance.”

Recent Extreme Weather Events Make Nitrogen Stabilizers Even More Important

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 16:32:07 GMT

As farm budgets have tightened, many producers are looking for places to trim expenses. One area Tim Laatsch, Koch Agronomic Services director of agronomy for North America, warns against making cuts is in nitrogen stabilizers.

“There can be a temptation to cut stabilizers out of the mix, and I would tell you that’s a bad idea,” Laatsch says. “The consistent response we see with stabilizers means not only are we doing the right thing from an environmental stewardship standpoint by preventing nitrogen loss, but we’re also taking that retained nitrogen, getting it into the plant, and making yield with it. We’re generating a positive return on investment for these stabilizer products.”

Laatsch says Koch has found an average of 6 bu./acre increase on fall-applied anhydrous ammonia treated with its Centuro stabilizer compared to non-stabilized acres across a three-year study in Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri.

“That’s potential bushels you’d be giving up if you make the short-sighted decision to not stabilize your ammonia,” he says.

Two Types Of Loss
While some operations may not have seen a need for stabilizer products in the past, there’s potential for that to change as the number of extreme weather events in the U.S. increase and bring the need for a change in management practices.

“When we have above average precipitation between the application and the time it’s used by the plant, you see a lot of nitrogen loss. But we can also lose a lot when it’s hot and dry due to volatilization with a surface application,” Laatsch says. “Adding a urease inhibitor will buy you time by slowing down the urea breakdown until you get an incorporating rainfall event to move it deeper into the soil.”

He explains warm, humid conditions can lead to a 30% to 40% loss of untreated urea applied above ground and below-ground losses due to leaching could add up to a 25% to 30% loss.

“Nitrogen is far too expensive of an input to just allow 30% to 40% of it to disappear in the first three days after you put it on the field,” Laatsch says. “I’ve seen enough of our data over the years to know a quality stabilizer will protect my nitrogen and also generate positive return on investment for my farm.”

Choose The Right Product
While using a stabilizer has potential to positively impact farmers’ bottom lines, Laatsch warns all products on the market are not created equal.

“You need to be able to answer two questions for the product,” he says. “No. 1: Does it have an active ingredient that is scientifically proven to have activity on the nitrogen loss you’re trying to manage? Oftentimes, that answer is yes, but the second question is tougher. Does it have enough of the active ingredient to actually be effective?”

Laatsch explains farmers should look for a urease inhibitor to control above-ground losses and a nitrification inhibitor to control leaching and denitrification. To decide if there’s enough active ingredient in the product, he recommends enlisting the help of an agronomist to dig into the label and compare pounds of active ingredient in a ton of finished fertilizer.

“Many products on the market fall short of what is actually needed to get the job done,” he says. “The worst-case scenario is selecting a low-quality product and investing money in an input that is not going to provide economic return.”

2024 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College: Learn How to Ride the Waves of Farming’s Economic Cycles

Mon, 20 May 2024 20:05:47 GMT

Maintaining profitability in turbulent economic times is challenging but often an economic reality on the farm.

This year’s Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College will focus on agronomic factors and management practices that can help farmers keep their business on track. Make plans to join Ken Ferrie and team for the event, which is slated for July 23 and 24 near Heyworth, Ill.

“One of our goals for the event is to help farmers strategize and identify some specific ways to thrive even in these rough economic waters we’re currently experiencing,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

The full agenda is listed below. In addition, the in-field and classroom sessions will address:

Proven practices that increase yield
Ways to gain nutrient efficiency
Government/private programs
Premium/specialty crops

The two-day event brings together presenters, farmers, and industry personnel that are passionate about raising the bar in farming, Ferrie says. “This is an unsponsored event making more time for our agronomists to spend with attendees, getting their questions answered, and more time to spend in the field,” he adds.

Day 1 of the Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College starts at 8 a.m., Tuesday, July 23, and runs through happy hour/dinner.

Day 2 starts at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, and sessions will go up to lunch.

“We will finish the second day with a Q & A following lunch. Our agronomists will be available to answer questions until your questions run out, so be sure to come with your list,” Ferrie says.

Price: $625 (includes access to one-day virtual event in January 2025). People can register for just the virtual event for $200, but it is included at no additional cost in the ticket package for those attending the in-person event.

Get the complete agenda details and register here .

Below is a list of the general sessions and breakouts. We’ll see you there!

A Margin Squeeze is Setting in Across Row-Crop Farms, and 80% of Ag Economists Are Now Concerned It'll Accelerate Consolidation

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 13:41:44 GMT

Farmers across the U.S. push forward to plant, and there’s an immense amount of pressure riding on this year’s crop production picture. With a margin squeeze setting in across farms, economists think it could accelerate consolidation in the row-crop industry.

The April Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor , a joint survey of 70 ag economists conducted by the University of Missouri and Farm Journal, shows economists views on the ag economy didn’t deteriorate from March to April. Their view on the current ag economy, when compared to 12 months ago, continues to show growing concerns.

“Everybody’s just continuing to wait and watch input prices stay high, costs stay high for producers, and for crops in particular, crop prices tending to move lower,” says Scott Brown, interim director, Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF), University of Missouri. “Everybody’s waiting to see what weather is like this summer and what kind of crop we put in the bin.”

Brown helps author the Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor. This month’s monitor shows economists expect net farm income to fall to $117.82 billion this year, which is steady with both the March and February survey results. It’s also in line with USDA’s current 2024 net farm income projection of $116 billion. However, when you consider net farm income reached $155 billion in 2023, both USDA and economists are saying they expect net farm income to drop close to 25% this year.

According to data analyzed by the University of Missouri, the change in Net Cash Farm Income is a strong metric to use when looking at the eroding ag economic picture. The change expressed in real 2024 dollars. It shows the 2023/24 change of $42,220,837,000 is second only to the 2022/23 change of $50,206,673,000 and means the largest and second-largest drops in Net Cash Farm Income have happened the past two years.

“I think the biggest one of the biggest concerns by far is this margin squeeze,” says Michael Langemeier, associate director, Center For Commercial Agriculture and Professor, Purdue University. “When you really start looking at ’24 budgets, I think the word I would use is ‘ugly.’ It looks as bad as 2019, maybe even slightly worse.”

Langemeier is not only one of 70 ag economists surveyed for the Monthly Monitor, he also helps author Purdue University’s Ag Economy Barometer each month, a survey of nearly 400 producers across the U.S.

“Looking through February, the Ag Economy Barometer has been relatively flat for about the last six months,” he says. “And that’s a little bit intriguing, because the prices did tumble a bit a couple months ago, and so that that hasn’t been reflected yet in the sentiment. But when you look at the biggest concerns, they’re still focusing on high input costs and low crop prices and high interest rates.”

Concerns About Consolidation in Ag

The April Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor also asked a question about the risk of consolidation in the row crop side of ag. Economists were asked if the current environment of declining commodity prices and high input costs could accelerate consolidation in row-crop operations and allied industries. Nearly 80% of economists who responded answered yes.

“Maybe as strong of a responses as it was, it did surprise me,” Brown says. “In general, when you think about it, we’re headed to what’s likely a period of tighter margins. I think the economists were saying this is going to make this competition to get bigger to try to offset some of the tighter margins work in their operations.”

Economists said geographies at the greatest risk of consolidation are areas that rely heavily on wheat and cotton production or where drought continues to be an issue, including the Great Plains and the southeast Cotton Belt. Economists also point out areas of the Corn Belt that have marginal soils and production could also see consolidation. Economists also pointed out the size of an operation will be a factor.

“The response was smaller operations are going to struggle, those maybe more highly leveraged are going to struggle, the smaller operations might be what becomes more problematic as we look ahead,” Brown says. “Operations are going to look to grow to try to offset what are going to be tighter margins that seem to be kind of the overwhelming response that we saw from the economists.”

Economists in the Monthly Monitor also say anywhere that has high cash rents and land ownership is scarce could be at risk of consolidation. However, Langemeier says another driving factor could be the adoption of ag tech.

“One of the questions we asked on the Ag Economy Barometer for the upcoming survey, is: Do you primarily buy used or new machinery? And there’s a bunch of people who say they buy used machinery. So, guess what, they’re behind the technology curve and to the extent that this precision agriculture technology, artificial intelligence and digital agriculture, all these things that are potentially profitable, there’s going to be a segment that’s left behind.”

What other factors could cause consolidation. Economists listed a plethora of other reasons in the April Monthly Monitor, including risks for some crop suppliers.

“We are in an era of accelerated consolidation in the Corn Belt due to new technology and increasing divergence in managerial ability,” one economist responded.

“This is a trend across much of the crop sector, and the current economic environment is one of many factors at play. It may be a difference between people being happy with their choice to leave the sector, because they can sell their farms and machinery, etc., for a good price, and those who are under pressure to leave because they cannot make ends meet,” said one economist in the anonymous survey.

“Input suppliers may be at the biggest risk for consolidation,” another economist said.

“Regardless of crops/geographies, I’d say the greatest risk of consolidation is more likely among farms that have one or more of the following: 1) Farmers near retirement age without a clear successor. 2) Farmers that are highly leveraged or in weak financial positions. 3) Farmers that have less land ownership

Changing Landscape in Ag

The April Monthly Monitor also asked how falling net farm income could change the landscape of agriculture. FAPRI-MU’s latest baseline projection shows average net farm income could fall to $114 billion for 2024 to 2033, down from $145 billion over 2020 to 2023. If that forecast holds true, economists say it will impact agriculture in a number of ways, including further consolidation of operations, downward pressure on land values and cash rents, as well as reduced purchases of farm machinery and crop inputs.

“We will see a slowing of entrants in to the farming sector and a few more exits to the industry,” one economist said. “There have been a lot of investments in machinery, farmland, etc. In response to strong farm income since 2021. That activity is slowing and may slow further if farm income stagnates at the projected levels. This is likely to slow or even reverse increases in land values,” said another economist in the anonymous survey.

“That would be a major drop and would take adjustment that may lead to some farmers leaving the industry or making other operational/management changes to adjust to the lower income environment. However, 2020 to 2023 is more of an anomaly relative to the longer-term trend of farm income. I do think farmers are aware that incomes at those levels weren’t going to last and were also preparing ahead for a downward adjustment that is expected,” was another response.

One economist pointed out while the drop in farm income will be a difficult adjustment, 2020 to 2023 was more of an anomaly, and the drop in net farm income could provide more motivation to strengthen the farm safety net.

Fight Over Finishing the Farm Bill Could Continue Into 2026

The timeline for the passing the next farm bill continues to be a mystery. The House and Senate Ag Committees continue to work on drafts, with the republicans on the House Ag committee announcing this week they expect markup to happen by Memorial Day.

House Ag Committee republicans stating the bill will strengthen the farm safety net, national security and conservation spending without cutting SNAP benefits.

The April Monthly Monitor asked economists, “When will Congress pass a new farm bill?” None of the economists said they think it’ll happen in 2024.

40% think it could be the first half of next year.
47% say the second half of 2025.
13% said it could be 2026.

“I think it’s just some of the issues that we see at play today in terms of getting a farm bill to the finish line,” Brown says. “If you can’t get it done in 2024, why is it different and 2025? You’ll still have the same issues of how to find more money for some of the Title I, as well as finding enough votes to get it through the House and the Senate. I think all is going to continue to be a struggle as we look ahead. Of course, if the financial side gets more difficult, maybe that increases the likelihood of finishing sooner.”

House Ag Committee Chairman GTT Thompson recently stated of the 435 members of Congress, more than half have never debated or voted on a farm bill before. He called it a unique challenge that requires a lot of education to bring people up to speed.

Possibility of More Corn Acres in the U.S.

Economists also weighed in on 2024 acreage estimates and in general, they think USDA largely underestimated corn acreage in the March Prospective Plantings report. If farmers end up planting 1 million to 2 million more acres of corn across the U.S., it could be an even larger weight and drive down corn prices.

Peter Meyer of Muddy Boots Ag explored the impact on prices on “U.S. Farm Report.”

View more results from the Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor here.

Crop Insurance Affordability at Heart of FARMER Act

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:21:54 GMT

The move to make higher levels of insurance coverage more affordable for U.S. farmers would be a big step toward decreasing their financial risks, according to Harold Wolle, president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

Wolle discussed the new Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act with AgriTalk Host, Chip Flory, on Tuesday.

“We are entering a period of lower profitability, and that increases our risks,” Wolle said. “To have these tools in our toolbox is very important.”

The FARMER Act legislation, introduced last week, was sponsored by U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee.

Hoeven said The FARMER Act improves crop insurance affordability by increasing premium support for the highest levels of coverage and enhancing the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). Making higher levels of coverage more affordable will shrink producer deductibles and reduce the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance in the future, Hoeven said, in a summary of the bill.

“The bill does not require producers to choose between enhanced crop insurance coverage and commodity support programs, allowing them to make decisions that work best for their operations,” Hoeven added.

Wolle, who farms near Madelia, Minn., said the legislation, if approved, would increase the premium support for revenue protection and yield protection policies. That would include:

- increasing premium support for certain revenue protection and yield protection policies at the 80% coverage level from 68% to 77% and at the 85% coverage level from 53% to 68%;

- increasing premium support for the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), an area-based plan, from 65% to 80% and increase the SCO coverage level from 86% to 90%; and

- directing the Risk Management Agency to conduct a study to improve the effectiveness of SCO in counties larger than 1,400 square miles.

“As you well know, crop insurance is the No. 1 risk management tool that our nation’s corn farmers have, and NCGA is always supportive of improving crop insurance,” Wolle said.

In addition to NCGA, the bill has the endorsement of more than 20 farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cotton Council, American Soybean Association, Crop Insurance Professionals Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers.

Next Steps On The FARMER Act
The proposed legislation by Sen. Hoeven is essentially a so-called marker bill that would get the proposed insurance enhancements in front of Congress for consideration. If the legislation was approved, it would then go into effect under the auspices of the next farm bill.

Wolle told Flory he is hopeful progress will be made on the farm bill yet this spring.

“It’s not like they’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re not going to deal with this until after the election.’ So I’m very glad that Chairman Thompson and everybody involved on the House and Senate Ag Committee are wanting to get this done.”

House agriculture chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said last week that he aims to push a bipartisan farm bill through “a key committee” before the end of May.

Agriculture leaders say action on the farm bill is needed because a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill will expire on September 30, 2024.

Check out CPA Paul Neiffer’s article here on How Not To Do Crop Insurance

NCGA Addresses Crop-Protection Tools
During the AgriTalk discussion, Flory asked Wolle for insights on a petition Corteva filed recently with The International Trade Commission.

“You were in D.C. not that long ago, testifying on why imports of 2,4-D and other crop protection tools are important. Tell us about that trip,” Flory said.

Wolle said Corteva filed the petition with the International Trade Commission to have anti-dumping and countervailing duties applied to imports of 2,4-D acid from India and China.

“An anti-dumping duty is levied when a product is being imported below the cost of production. A countervailing duty is implemented when a country’s government unfairly subsidizes the production of that commodity,” Wolle explained.

“Corteva is maintaining that both of those situations apply to imports of the 2,4-D acid from both of those countries. If that would happen, it would increase the cost of 2,4-D to our nation’s corn and soybean farmers, to all of our farmers,” Wolle added.

While Wolle said corn growers “don’t use a lot of 2,4-D,” it’s an important weed-control tool and plays an important role in conservation farming efforts.

“If we’re going to burn down the weeds before we plant, 2,4-D is one of the staple pesticides used to control those broadleaf weeds. So, it’s a very important, long-time chemical that we need to have in our toolbox and at a reasonable price,” Wolle said. “Here again, this cost-price squeeze affects the nation’s farmers. This becomes more and more important that we have access to these tools at affordable prices.”

More news on early-season weed control for 2024 available here: 3 Tips For Better Weed-Control Outcomes This Season

Tariff Imbalance With Brazil
Flory asked Wolle whether efforts to remove or reduce Brazil’s tariffs on the imports of U.S. ethanol are going to happen.

“I don’t know,” Wolle replied. “We need to emphasize that again and again. Brazil charges us an 18% tariff for our ethanol going into their country and we only charge them 2.4%. That’s not right.”

See more about the ag boom in Brazil here: Brazil’s Biggest Growing Sector: Agriculture

The complete AgriTalk discussion is available here:

Farmers Express Optimism In Purdue's Latest Ag Economy Barometer

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:24:54 GMT

Purdue’s March ag economy barometer is up to a reading of 114 – an increase of three points from February.

Dr. Jim Mintert, professor of agricultural economics and director, Center for Commercial Agriculture at Purdue University, says the results of the latest barometer can be traced back to an increase in farmer optimism.

“All of the increase was attributable to people becoming more optimistic about the future,” he shared on a recent episode of AgriTalk. “The future expectation index was up five points compared to last month, and that was seven points higher than a year ago. So, it really had to outweigh the fact that the current condition index was actually down a little bit compared to last month and down substantially compared to last year. That was interesting.”

Mintert believes the rise in sentiment comes back to interest rates.

“The thing we were able to point to the most was the fact that people became more optimistic about interest rates and interest rates going down over the upcoming year, and potentially the impact that would have on the ag sector in general in ag incomes,” he says. “Although people didn’t explicitly tell us as it was interest rates, when you looked at some of the other questions, it appeared the change in interest rate outlook did impact their viewpoints.”

In the March barometer, which was conducted March 11-15, 48% of respondents shared they anticipate U.S. prime interest rates to decline over the next year – which is an increase from the 35% who had this outlook in December 2023.

“The shift is quite remarkable,” Mintert says. “Last summer, 60% of the people surveyed thought rates were going up. This month, only 32% of the people in the survey think rates are going up.”

At the same time, just 20% of respondents said the risk of rising interest rates was their top concern. The majority – 36% - were more concerned with high input costs.

“I think what people are telling us is they think the margin squeeze we’re experiencing right now with high breakevens and weakening commodity prices, is a little bit of a temporary phenomenon,” Mintert says.

Two Surprises
One area of this month’s results Mintert says is surprising also relates back to the respondents’ outlook on interest rates.

“The short-term farmland index actually jumped up nine points, and that’s a fairly big move for that index in a one-month span. That left it 11 points higher than this time last year,” he says. “The No. 1 reason we could come up with was the expectations for some softer or weaker interest rates.”

The second surprise came from the number of discussions around solar energy and carbon capture.

“12% said they’d had a conversation in the last six months [involving solar energy], which was kind of interesting,” he says. “We’ve been surprised at how many people tell us they’ve been talking to somebody about carbon capture – 18% said that they’d had at least a conversation.”

Know Your Business Pressures, Trends And Actions For Big Breakthroughs

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 13:13:34 GMT

Have you ever wished to work through a step-by-step process to help you innovate your enterprise, create competitive advantage and build your business? Well, such a process exists.

Since 1990, I’ve taken dozens of clients through it, and one of my greatest joys is watching the birth of revolutionary breakthroughs just from following the steps. Pull together a small team of innovative and strategic thinkers familiar with your business and market, and ask a facilitator to guide you through three dialogue areas: pressures, trends and actions.

Pressures
1. Competitive Pressure:

Identify significant competitors, and assess their capabilities.
Determine whether your products or services offer distinct advantages or are relatively equal to the competition.
Strategize ways to present and prove your advantage over competitors, and begin innovation efforts where needed.

2. Vendor-Supplier Pressure:

Evaluate the ease of vendors driving up prices and the uniqueness of key inputs.
Assess the abundance or scarcity of quality suppliers.
Explore partnership opportunities with vendors and strategies to leverage power.

3. Customer Pressure:

Analyze factors influencing customers’ ability to drive prices down and their propensity to switch to competitors.
Determine the size of the potential market and strategies to capture untapped customers.
Develop initiatives to enhance customer loyalty.

4. New Alternatives Pressure:

Assess the ease of new competitors entering the market.
Evaluate the level of protection you have around key technologies and strategies and where you could increase market barriers.

5. Employee and Talent Pressure:

Consider demands from employees, unions or human resources that could affect vulnerability.
Evaluate the ability to attract and retain talent, and identify strategies for talent development.

6. Substitution Pressure:

Assess the likelihood and ease of customers finding alternatives to your offerings.
Explore strategies to become the preferred provider and enhance customer loyalty.

7. Technology—Information Pressure:

Evaluate the impact of technology and information changes on your business.
Consider opportunities to protect or own key technology or information, and develop strategic advantages.

Trends
Past Trends:

Consider recent trends and shifts in your industry. What have been the specific trends in each of the seven pressures areas?
Has competition become more intense?
Do vendors or customers have more power?
Have you seen an increase in alternatives or substitutes threatening the value you deliver?
Have new competitors been entering your industry, or have they been leaving?

Current Trends:
Trends change. Although any of the seven pressures may have shifted in one direction in the past three, five or 10 years, what is the current state and trend of those pressures?

Anticipated Trends:
Consider and list what future developments are likely. Include problems that could arise. Discuss these and prospective threats and constraints during regular dialogues.

Actions
Within each pressure, you can find myriad potential opportunities and objectives around which your team could take action to improve profitability and create more value for you and the customer.

By using the above and other strategy dialogues I share in “High-Growth Levers,” you can begin leading with profit-improving innovation that also derives ever-greater value for your customers and the market.

This is a significant abbreviation of my approach. Reach out for a fuller version and a pro bono one-on-one test flight to assess how much potential there may be and how to best take action.