Policy Update for 2022
While no major changes have been made to crop insurance or commodity programs for 2022, major legislation has been moving through Congress this fall that will have impacts on agriculture. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes funding for a range of investments that will impact agriculture and rural communities. The Build Back Better framework’s focus on climate change includes support for clean energy, conservation, and climate smart agriculture. This policy update will focus discussion on the current state of…
Farmland Values and Rental Rates for 2022
Farmland market prices have risen dramatically over the past 12-18 months, and cash rents for 2022 experienced upward pressure as well. Factors affecting farmland markets and rental rates will be discussed including prospects for future income, impacts of continuing low interest rates, monetary policy changes, inflation updates, and export driven demand. Expanding investor interest in the asset class, new technologies for managing farmland investments, and historically low capital costs have all supported farmland valuations as well, but uncertainty around each…
Supply Bottlenecks and Management Decisions
Covid control measures have led to supply chain issues that appear to be worsening for the 2022 production year. General price inflation also is occurring. As a result, all input costs will be considerably higher in 2022 as compared to 2021. We will discuss recent increases in costs and assess their impacts on the upcoming production year. Much of the focus will be on fertilizer decisions.
Farm Income Outlook for 2022
The economic situation on Illinois grain farms has brightened with higher grain prices, resulting in relatively high incomes for 2021. Prices in 2022 could continue to be above the long-run average, but costs will increase substantially. If prices remain above average, incomes in 2022 likely will be near average. However, the higher 2022 costs require much higher corn and soybean prices to reach break-even.
Grain Market Outlook for 2022
Corn and soybean prices currently sit at historically high levels. A crucial question for 2022 is how long should we expect the good times to last? In this webinar, we discuss the 2022 supply and demand outlook for corn and soybeans. Two key factors are highlighted: trade with China and acreage supply response.
Machinery Costs and Management
The 2021 version of machinery cost estimates for field operations, harvesting operations, and tractors are available on farmdoc. We will discuss the uses of these estimates and the methods used to arrive at these costs. Machinery management revolves around properly sizing machinery and optimizing use.
Factors affecting Farmland Markets
Farmland prices have risen rapidly in recent months both due to in part to rising income prospects and continuing low interest rates. Uncertainty about monetary policy and inflation, strength of the dollar, and export driven demand highlight the typical explanations, but expanding investor interest in the asset class, new technologies for managing farmland investments, and historically low capital costs have all supported farmland valuations as well. Regional differences in farmland performance and key factors influencing farmland values in the future…
Bringing Clarity to Tax Changes in Agriculture
This webinar will provide information about changes to federal and state depreciation provisions, how farm families can benefit from a variety of tax credits, and the latest developments for estate tax planning.
Grain Returns for 2021 and 2022
Production cost are rising at substantial rates. Here we will summarize grain farm financial statements for farms enrolled in Illinois Farm Business Farm Management, and present projections for the future.
Is the MRTN Nitrogen Rate for Corn High Enough?
The Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) is a recommended N rate based on recent N response trials, and is often lower than rates based on expected yields. We’ll discuss how much risk this brings, and will introduce a way for producers to check MRTN performance in the field.
Managing Weeds in Variable Weather: Insights From Data Mining
Global climate change is creating challenges for agriculture today and will continue in the future. During the past 50 years in the US Cornbelt, average air temperatures have risen and rainfall has become more variable, including an increase in the total number of extreme rainfall events. These trends are expected to continue. Weather and weeds are two stressors that can act simultaneously to affect crop performance, yet their comprehensive study in tandem is limited. The webinar will discuss the most important relationships among weed control and weather variability on corn yield loss due to weeds.
Brazil and the United States
Brazil is the United States’ major competitor in agriculture, with Brazil now producing more soybeans than the U.S. Here we will discuss Brazil’s past development, and prospects for the future.
2021/22 Market Outlook for Corn and Soybeans
After several years of trade difficult, grain markets have boomed. We will discuss the factors impacting grain markets and provide some projections for the future.
Carbon Markets 101: What Questions Farmers Should Ask?
With growing concerns about climate change, policy markers are looking for solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One solution is a market for carbon credits. Here we will describe the latest on carbon markets, with an emphasis on definitions of carbon markets and an analysis of current carbon markets.
Farmland and Price Outlook
Farmland market prices are rising and cash rents for 2022 are being set. Latest information on farmland price, including results from the annual survey of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraises. Expectation for 2022 will be given.
2021 farmdoc Update
New issues have emerged in Corn-belt agriculture with outlook and costs still being on the forefront. The following webinar series will aid in setting current thinking of the agricultural economy moving into 2022.
The Business Case for Conservation: A Summary of Farm Financial and Environmental Data from Precision Conservation Management
In this 1-hour webinar, the PCM and University of IL Agricultural Economics Team will summarize 6-years of data from the Precision Conservation Management program (PCM). PCM is a farmer service program led by IL Corn Growers Association and IL Soybean Association...
Demonstration and Discussion of the Cover Crop Simulation Tool
A project team from ACES, NCSA and Purdue’s Agronomy Department have been developing a first-of-its-kind cover crop simulation and decision support tool for Illinois farmers with funding by the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council. The tool was released in October and recently updated with additional functionality. On this webinar, the project team will discuss the project and tool, as well as provide a demonstration and explanation.
The Cover Crop Decision Support Tool may be found at https://covercrop.ncsa.illinois.edu/
FAST Tools and Financial Planning
FAST is a set of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that can be used to evaluate management decisions on farm. We will demonstrate use of the Farm Projections Tool.
Final Look at Commodity Title and Crop Insurance Decisions
All the information is needed to calculator crop insurance premiums. Deadlines for corp insurance and commodity title choices are nearing. This webinar will update any information that needs to be covered before decisions are final.
Last Financial Issues Before Planting
A recap of the financial position of Illinois farms will be provided. We will go over budgeting and pro forma cash flow planning for 2021.
Acreage Decisions in 2021
Corn and soybean decisions have changed greatly Since August. This webinar will discuss implications of those decisions for planting decisions in 2021.
ECO and Crop Insurance
Most farmers in the Midwest insure corn and soybeans with Revenue Protection (RP). This year, a new county-level product can be added on top of RP and other products called Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO). This webinar will discuss the crop insurance decisions, in general, and ECO in particular.
Commodity Title Choices in 2021
Farmers and land owners will again have the opportunity to change commodity title choices between Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage for the 2021 crop year. The deadline for the decision in March 15, 2021. This webinar will discuss these alternatives.
Paycheck Protection Program and Employee Retention Credit Under December’s Consolidated Appropriations Act
Legislation passed in December called the Consolidations Appropriations Act has implications for farms. We will cover the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including implications for the initial draw, second draw, and recalculated draw. Issues associated with the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) also will be covered.