THE CURRENT STATE OF AGRICULTURE

In the current state of Agriculture, small family farms are becoming more and more non-existent. Many have to find outside work or off farm jobs to support not only their families but farms as well. It is sad when a person looks at the universities projected budget for the year for each farming entity. They often show a negative net income or barely breaking even. And yet year after year seed, fertilizers, machinery, chemical, rent and almost everything else seems to continue to go up while the return on the products you raise seem to be dropping more each year. It seems each year we hold our breath until the grain is harvested and sold or the livestock is loaded onto the truck. We hope for a bumper crop and favorable weather and prices that are profitable, but those only seem to come around every once in a great while. And when there is a good year, all the input costs go up and remain there long after the price of grain, livestock or produce has come down off the high.

Is there a future for the little farmer?

Now, this may be depressing and I don’t mean to be a downer, but it is the truth for many farmers in the world today. Many farmers would probably make more money renting their land than actually working it themselves. But, I believe there is true hope for the little farmer. I believe many little farmers can still be profitable in today's day and age. But, there has to be a change in mindset, a willingness to look at things from a different angle. Many farmers are stuck into thinking, “This is how we have always done it”, “This will never work on my farm” or even “It works for my neighbor, but it can’t work here.” I want you to stop and think about this for a minute. Have you ever said one of these phrases or something similar? This is a very dangerous mindset to have not only because it prevents you from finding new ways to farm and produce a product, but it also prevents you from knowledge and continued personal growth. This brings up a great question. What drives your farm?

Yield vs. Rate of Return

So many producers make yield the sole indicator of profit but in reality this can harm your operation in the long run. The problem comes when we focus so much on yield and dump hundreds of dollars to receive a few more bushels of grain or pounds of production. For example, which of these farmers is more profitable?

Farmer A: Seed cost $110/ Acre and in the fall harvest 200 bushel corn

Farmer B: Seed cost $65/ Acre and in the fall harvest 190 bushel corn

Assuming all other input cost were the same at $500/acre and corn prices were $3.50 we would receive the following:

Farmer A: 200bu/Acre * $3.50= $700 - $500(other input cost) - $110/acre for seed = $90

Farmer B: 190bu/Acre * $3.50= $665 - $500(other input cost) - $65/acre for seed = $100

I know you're probably thinking this is just an example and in real life a person would be crazy to think like this, but this example proves yield is not everything. We need to look at these things and think outside the box and do some research on what other farmers are doing and how they are making their farm profitable. Also, just a clarification, I am not saying you should go out and change your whole operation in one night, because that would be far to risk. What I would challenge you to do is test it out on a small percentage of your operation.

Now after going through the current state of agriculture and how each year we face the same challenges of rising inputs with lower return, the danger of being stuck in the, “This is how we have always done it” mindset, and yield is not everything. We need to start looking at things from a different angle. We need to start educating ourselves on new ways to produce our products. What small things can you do that could change your future?