Agricultural Business Management News

By David Bau, Extension Educator The spring of 2019 will go down as one for the memory books. Wet, cool and late spring left many farmers cramming to get their crops planted. Many were unable to get all the crop planted on time and continued planting even after final planting dates lowering their level of insurance coverage. Many field were not planted at all and many acres applied to prevented planting acres. Last winter I prepared crop budget for corn and soybeans total $722 per acre for corn and $469 for soybeans with cash rents or return of investment plus property taxes estimated at $186 per acre. How do the economics look today? Cash corn for harvest of 2019 at Lamberton’s Meadowland Coop was $4.17 and soybean price was $8.30.  The budget used yields of 190 bushels per acre for corn and 52 bushels per acre for corn. Though yield were projected for normal planting dates which did not take place for many Minnesota farmers. Using a 10 percent yield loss due to later planting d

By David Bau, Extension Educator There is no question that farming can be a stressful business. But when profits are small and cash flows becomes tight, stress builds up. A big problem in this equation is while farmers are so busy caring for everything else; they sometimes forget to care for themselves. Stress management may not seem like the most important topic to farmers, but it is critical to your health and your success. If you still feel like something isn’t right or you can’t get a handle on your stress, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  There are many University of Minnesota Extension resources available to help you work through your stress. Call Farm Information Line to set up a financial counseling session at 1-800-232-9077 . Financial counseling is free and completely confidential. Extension farm financial experts from areas like banking and farm business management education provide free, one-on-one financial counseling to farmers who are experiencing financial stres