Collected Publications for profitability • farmdoc daily

What are the Start-Up Challenges Associated with Farm Growth?

April 27, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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How Will Expansion Impact My Current Operation?

April 6, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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A Pattern Change for Biodiesel Production Profitability in 2017?

March 28, 2018
Scott Irwin

The U.S. biodiesel production industry for some time has had a distinct "feast or famine" pattern in terms of profitability. The industry made very large profits in 2011 and 2013,…

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Gardner Policy Series

U.S. Field Crop Income – Return to Normalcy

March 21, 2018
Carl Zulauf , Gary Schnitkey, Jonathan Coppess and Nick Paulson

The economic state of U.S. crop farming has drawn considerable attention in recent years. This article uses U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cost of production data to compare the ratio…

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What Happened to the Profitability of Ethanol Production in 2017?

March 14, 2018
Scott Irwin

The ethanol industry has been much in the news in recent months with the ongoing political battle over the future of the RFS. It is easy to lose track of…

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What Business Model Should I Use to Grow?

March 2, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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How Do I Finance the Growth of My Operation?

February 9, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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What Skills and Competencies Do I Need to Grow?

February 2, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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Managing in 2018 – You and Your Board of Directors

January 19, 2018
Brandy Krapf, Bradley Zwilling, and Dwight Raab

Successfully managing your farm business is an ongoing process. There are many resources, tasks and processes to manage. Being self-aware of the many things that vie for your time and…

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How Should Farm Growth Options be Evaluated?

January 17, 2018
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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What Strategic Issues Should Influence my Growth Options?

December 1, 2017
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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What are my Options to Grow?

November 3, 2017
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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When Creating 2018 Budgets, Keep In Mind Family Living Costs

October 20, 2017
Brandy Krapf, Dwight Raab, Bradley Zwilling, and Bailey Fletcher

In 2016, the total noncapital living expenses of 1,333 farm families enrolled in the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association (FBFM) average was $76,916--or $6,410 a month for each family.…

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Trends in Income By Farm Type 2012-2016

September 15, 2017
Brandy Krapf, Dwight Raab, and Bradley Zwilling

Farm incomes can and do very greatly from year to year. As well, farm incomes vary by type of farm. This article will review trends in size, income for a…

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The Value of Soybean Oil in the Soybean Crush: Further Evidence on the Impact of the U.S. Biodiesel Boom

September 14, 2017
Scott Irwin

Biodiesel production and consumption in the U.S. boomed in recent years due to rising RFS mandate requirements. However, no evidence was found in a farmdoc daily article last week that…

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The Relationship between Biodiesel and Soybean Oil Prices

September 7, 2017
Scott Irwin and Darrel Good

In a farmdoc daily article almost five years ago (November 2, 2012), we argued that, "...the new era of higher crop prices could be extended well into the future as…

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Does Your Farm Need to Expand?

August 4, 2017
Michael Langemeier and Michael Boehlje

There are numerous motivations for farms to expand their businesses. Even in today's environment of tight margins, many farms are exploring expansion options. When exploring these options, it is important…

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Higher Wages Don’t Always Mean a Higher Standard of Living: Rural Cost-of-Living and Farmworker Wages

July 27, 2017
Travis Grout and Jennifer Ifft

Differences in the cost of living across U.S. complicates ongoing farm labor challenges. Farm industry groups, agricultural media, and even the popular press have covered declining availability of farmworkers as…

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What’s Up with Ethanol Production Profits?

June 29, 2017
Scott Irwin

In a farmdoc daily article last week, we showed that biodiesel production profits in the U.S. had moved into the black in recent months, seemingly defying the typical pattern of…

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What’s Up with Rising Biodiesel Production Profits?

June 22, 2017
Scott Irwin

As noted in several previous farmdoc daily articles, the U.S. biodiesel production industry has a distinct "feast or famine" pattern in terms of profitability. The industry made very large profits…

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What is the Impact of Power and Equipment Costs on Illinois Grain Farms?

June 16, 2017
Brandy Krapf, Dwight Raab, and Bradley Zwilling

With tightening margins and lower crop prices, producers are looking for ways to cut costs. In this article, we will look at power and equipment costs components, how they vary…

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State Labor Regulations and Labor-Intensive Agriculture

June 15, 2017
Jennifer Ifft and Travis Grout

The state of U.S. agricultural production is changing. Over the next decade, increases to minimum wage and other changing labor regulations will have a dramatic impact on fruit, vegetable and…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Shifting Corn and Soybean Acres Vary by Farm Size and Region of Illinois

June 13, 2017
Gary Schnitkey, Nick Paulson, and Dale Lattz

Illinois farmers have been planting more soybeans since 2013. This increase in soybeans comes after an increase in corn acres beginning in 2006 and ending in 2012. Corn and soybean…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Differences in Revenue and Costs for Higher and Average Return Grain Farms

June 6, 2017
Gary Schnitkey, Nick Paulson, and Dale Lattz

Differences in returns and costs are compared for farms of higher than average profitability to average profitability farms. This analysis was conducted in McLean County, Illinois for farms having high-productivity…

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How Hard is it to be Above Average in Farming?

May 26, 2017
Gary Schnitkey, Nick Paulson, and Dale Lattz

Returns to farms vary from one year to next due to variation in prices, yields, and costs. Within a year, some farms will have higher returns than others. Over time,…

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