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Crop Insurance Decision Tool
This program calculates premiums, evaluates insurance payments, and provides historical data useful when making crop insurance decisions for multiple crops. Estimates are for crops in midwest and southeast states.
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2021 Budgets For All Regions
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2022 Planting Decisions, Nitrogen Fertilizer Prices, and Corn and Soybean Prices
For 2022, planting decisions relative to corn and soybeans are likely more complicated than usual due to rising production costs and uncertainties about commodity and fertilizer prices. Higher priced nitrogen fertilizer, used more heavily on corn acres, will require corn…
When Creating 2022 Crop Budgets, Keep in Mind Family Living Costs
In 2020, the total noncapital living expenses of 1,088 farm families enrolled in the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association (FBFM) averaged $76,672–or about $6,400 a month for each family (Figure 1). This average was about 2.8 percent lower than…
Machinery Cost Estimates for 2021
Machinery cost estimates for 2021 have been released and are available on the farmdoc website (see Management section of farmdoc). Machinery costs are updated every two years, with the last update occurring in 2019. Substantial increases in list prices of…
2020 Incomes and Capital Expenditure
Average net farm income on Illinois grains farms was above-average in 2020 primarily because of two factors: 1) higher corn and soybean prices in the second half of 2020, and 2) Federal aid through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)…
Pandemic Assistance to Illinois Agricultural Producers in 2020 from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
In response to market disruptions and economic harm caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S. federal government initiated a series of relief programs for U.S. consumers and businesses, including farmers and ranchers. Of these programs, the two rounds of…
Conventional and Organic Enterprise Net Returns
Due to continued increases in demand for certified organic grains, crop farmers that have transitioned from conventional to certified organic grains report higher net returns per acre (McBride et al., 2015; Greene et al., 2017; Langemeier et al., 2020; Center…
Latest Farm Policy News Articles
Fertilizer Exports from China Face Curbs, as Crop Acreage Levels Garners Attention
Bloomberg News reported this week that, “Chinese authorities are imposing new hurdles for fertilizer exporters amid growing concerns over surging power prices and food production, a move that could worsen a global price shock and food inflation.”
China’s Pork Output Jumps, as Soy, Meat Imports Slow
Reuters writer Dominique Patton reported this week that, “China’s third-quarter pork production surged to its highest in three years, official data showed on Monday, after producers built thousands of large breeding farms last year to rebuild a hog herd decimated…
Chinese Livestock Producers Look to Corn as Domestic Prices Fall, While U.S. Corn Exports Hit Record Volume
Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Gavin Maguire reported late last week that, “For the first time in a year, corn prices in China’s key Shandong hub this week have fallen to the same levels as wheat, leading some feed producers…
The Reach of Higher Fertilizer Prices Continues to Extend, Implications for Illinois Grain Farmers
On Thursday, Bloomberg writers Tatiana Freitas and Fabiana Batista reported that, “Brazilian farmer Antonio Carlos Jacobsen usually buys fertilizer a few weeks before planting his corn fields. Soaring fertilizer prices are pushing him to move up purchases for the March…
A Profitable Harvest, But Farmers Leery of Rising Production Costs and Parts Shortage
Des Moines Register writer Donnelle Eller reported this week that, “After last year’s destructive derecho, which flattened corn and stripped soybean across the state, better-than-expected yields and strong prices are making this harvest a profitable one for Iowa farmers lucky…
FAS: “China Continues to Drive Red Meat Trade”
In its Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade report this week, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “China pork production is expected to contract in 2022 as the hog sector adjusts to rapidly changing market conditions. Hog…