It looks like we're going to have another pretty tough year with low prices. I've been working tirelessly on our break-evens and it's not looking too promising. Anyone care to disclose what they're cutting back on/doing differently to save or add money? Also would be curious as to what you are charging the landowner for (on crop rents.) The last few years, it seems like we've taken a beating on the crop sharing rents.

The thing is you really don't even know if a crop will come in. With the drought last year if we don't get normal rains starting right away this spring it will be a tough year again and really no way to even plan for that. I would say cut back where ever you can and need to be as efficient as you can be.

Bush hogging and other fuel burning busy work stopped a couple years ago. Also negotiated some lower rents, and payments at end of year to help cash flow.

Got a cousin who claims row coppers are the world's biggest gamblers. He's row cropped, had broiler houses and beef cattle. Put every bit of into planted pine about ten years back.

It has been tough. I manage a large farm. My main focus is on inputs (fert,herbicide) I’ve been trying to save a dollar wherever I can, but the money also starts with crop insurance and a pricing plan for next year. It’s been keeping me up at night!

I agree that we're gamblers for sure! I've been trying to chip away at all of the inputs... booking fertilize early for (hopefully) cheaper prices, trying to save on seed, etc. I just passed the chemical dealers test to try to buy our chemical at wholesale costs. Anyone ever do that?

Are there contract livestock opportunities where you live? Hogs? Poultry?

As farmers we can’t always control what we make, but we can control what we spend.

As far as rents, 35% of gross income per acre is plenty for rent.

Considering many cropshare agreements used to be 50/50. As you split the inputs, the landowner provides the land, the farmer provided machinery and labor, and you split the crop. Anymore, land rental rates are near the 50% of gross, and yet the farmer is taking all the risk with inputs, machinery, labor etc. The landowner has zero risk, regardless of rainfall, weather, etc.

In Iowa, owning land is King. For farming it or leasing it.

Since the advent of Round up, everyone is an expert crop farmer and it isn't gonna change soon. You will have to "value add" if you want to make money. Think out side the box, organics, new crops etc. Or you can just keep doing the same cause its easy.

This is basically what I was thinking. Disclaimer, I'm not a large scale farmer. However it might pay out better to change what you are growing. You can produce 10x the amount of product with a hydroponic greenhouse than you can on soil based growing. Just one example. Start working towards organic farming, those crops come at a premium. But it means learning to farm an entirely different way than just spraying more chemicals.

What are your goals? To make money or to grow corn and beans?

Getting back to reality, tighten up the belts. No new paint. Utilize grain storage, that alone will make some money. All my beans are seed beans bringing around 80 cent premium per bu. Negotiate any rent. When all else fails I counter with a November pay date. Shop around for inputs. These are trying times, don't let loyalty and sentiment come solely at your cost. Let your suppliers show some loyalty to you.

raise and feed out more coon thats where the money is

We have mostly dairy here with probably 80% of our crops used to feed cows and heifers. Lower commodity prices help dairy farmers keep from losing more money with low prices.
Many are reluctant to contract milk as they feel they will lose out on the top end. If a dairy farmer would have contracted Feb- November 2018 milk 6 months ago they would have averaged about $2.50 to $3.00 more than those current prices are on the CME. With average production around 23,000 per cow that is $600 to nearly $800 per cow in lower income. Many are unwilling to lose at the top but that means the bottom is not covered. There is a strong feeling that everyone should know that milk has too much value to be too low and won't believe that prices should or will drop that much. Not too unfamiliar with selling fur either. The problem with milk is you can't store for months or years you either need to sell the product or cut back etc. or quit selling.
Many in the US thought that when the high European subsidies went a way they would lower production and the exact opposite happened and production increased quite a lot.


Bryce

Guys I hate to hear this. I feel for you. I'm no farmer but own a sm. company myself & it's STRESSFUL to say the least. Always wonder how the big guys make it big. Seems like when it rains, it pours sometimes. Keep on keepin' on is what I always say, although that's easier said than done somedays...

I do want to stick the the more traditional crops. I have, however, thought about getting my foot in with the Mary Jane business. I do think in the next few years that industry will blow up

There you go, I have read up on it but I don't have enough acres, organic corn has been working for me.

Any of your land decent wildlife habitat that you can lease for hunting? Maybe not a lot of money butif you're already paying for liability insurance for your existing operation, perhaps there's little additional input costs. Do you have any land in CRP or is there any CRP eligibility left in your county (I don't know if a landowner has to wait for USDA to announce a sign up or can you bid a parcel against other people's land at a certain time of year?). I know during the first couple decades of CRP, there were a lot of guys in the pheasant belt of SD that made some noticeable cash from pay-hunting bird hunters on their mix of CRP and their normal crop ground in the fall.

Read up a lot about organics as the dairy organic market has taken a 9% loss in sales volume the last year which is a huge loss. Local food production is gaining more in sales and value than organic. Raising crops, vegetables, eggs, meat in more traditional ways not using chemicals or in a "natural" way is gaining more value than organic is in our area.

Bryce

Im slowly becoming a farmer. Farmers are some of the richest people in the world! Makes sense to wanna be one.

There are close to 11 million millionaires in the USA as of 2016 there are only 2 million farmers so even if all farmers were millionaires that leaves 9 million others that are not farmers. Based on over 40 years associated with teaching and financial management in agriculture I know that most are not. There are many other faster and better ways to become wealthy.

Bryce