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Farm Projection Tool
This program calculates per-acre budgets for different crops and a whole farm budget and includes breakevens. Projected financial statements and return sensitivities are available. The effects of farm level crop…
Planting Decision Model
With this program, the user can: 1) estimate the costs of planting corn and soybeans by planting date, 2) estimate the net returns from replanting, 3) prevented planting payments, and…
Farm Bill What-If Tool
This program calculates Agricultural Risk Coverage for County Coverage (ARC-CO), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments, and ARC at the Individual Level (ARC-IC). County yields and market year average (MYA) prices…
Recent Features
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Crop Insurance Decision Tool
Farm Projection Tool
Index Numbers of Illinois Farmland Values
2019 Budgets For All Regions
Latest farmdoc Daily Articles
Lettuce Talk About Food Safety: Consumer Responses to Recent Outbreaks
Over the last month, it has been hard to miss the news of outbreaks and recalls. Cyclospora-contaminated iceberg lettuce sickened over 11,000 across 20 states and led to a recall…
Wheat Double-Crop Soybean Profitability in Recent Years
Current projections indicate that wheat followed by double-crop soybeans will be more profitable in 2027 than either corn or stand-alone soybeans in southern Illinois. Wheat-double-crop soybeans generated the highest operator…
Why U.S Farmers Own Farmland and What They Expect for Land Values
Results from August 2026 Ag Economy Barometer highlight that farmland ownership is motivated by more than current financial returns. Family or sentimental reasons were the primary motivation for 45% of respondents, while another 32% identified long-term investment as their main reason for owning farmland. Only 22% selected current income. These motivations are consistent with producers’ broader views of farmland as an asset.
Trying to Picture a Base Acre Update Through a Hypothetical Change in 2025 Payments
Echoes of a failed vote on an unfinished Farm Bill can still be heard, although the rumble of much bigger news tends to drown them out. As just one example,…
Illinois Crop Budgets for 2027
Despite increases in projected production costs, particularly for fertilizers and fuel, improved pricing prospects for the 2026 and 2027 crop years result in higher per acre return projections compared with recent years. However, projected returns remain below longer-run averages. Downward price movements could quickly shift marginally positive projected returns back into the red. Pricing more than the usual amount of 2026 crop at harvest may be warranted given recent increases in prices.
The Other Base Update Issue: PLC Base Yield
Crop commodity program base acres have attracted considerable attention ever since their authorization in the 1980s (farmdoc daily, January 15, 2026; January 22, 2026; January 29, 2026; February 12, 2026;…