The median operating expense ratios for Illinois grain farms have increased significantly in recent years across all farm sizes, reflecting a deterioration in financial efficiency. While large farms generally report higher median ratios, the distribution of their reported ratios exhibits less variability than those of smaller operations. Along with declining incomes, rising input costs — such as pesticides, seed, fertilizer, and labor — have contributed to the recent upward trend since 2021.

A tendency to miss the bigger or more complete picture because of an overemphasis on smaller details is an infinitely adaptable and applicable concept. A particularly intriguing application is understanding adaptation to change in complex systems with challenging interdependencies. Another matter to which the old idiom resonates is the challenge of managing cover crops. We put it to work here to kick off a series of articles exploring the learning curve for this critical conservation practice.

Many factors contribute to rural health disparities, but food insecurity exacerbates all these rural health challenges. To address the challenges and impacts on residents with inadequate food access, several states have developed grocery store support programs targeting both urban and rural “food deserts.” This article examines state approaches for supporting smaller, locally owned, and independent grocery stores, particularly in more rural communities.

The ratio of breakeven prices for soybeans to corn in central Illinois declined from 2000 to 2010, while the ratio of market prices for soybeans to corn has remained around a stable average since the mid-1970s. This implies a relative improvement in profitability potential for soybeans over corn which has been driven by changes in relative costs. While producers’ costs on a per acre basis have increased over time for both crops, soybean productions costs have increased less than for corn.

Implications of the demise of the countercyclical crop safety net are explored since the 2014 Farm Bill authorized the current set of commodity programs. Total commodity and ad hoc & emergency payments plus net insurance payments notably exceeded economic losses from producing the nine crops for which the USDA ERS computes a cost of production. The $88 billion excess of safety net payments over private market losses likely played a role in the 52% and 73% increase in farm assets and debt since 2013.

The total machinery investment required increases with the number of acres farmed, though at a decreasing rate as scale expands. Comparing data from 2013 to 2023 reveals a significant rise in both total and per-acre machinery values, particularly at smaller acreage levels. This increase reflects not only higher equipment costs but also changes in farm machinery characteristics – including the adoption of larger and more technologically advanced equipment.