how are you guys staying profitable?

Question

irrigated/dryland farmer in Kansas. Nothing exactly pencils out that great. I’m in western Kansas where it’s primarily irrigated corn on corn and dryland is a wheat-corn/Milo- fallow rotation. Inputs have came down abit but so have commodity prices. I shop around for all my inputs and usually go with what’s cheapest(that’s how I got on FBN) but even doing that, if I can’t grow a bumper crop it just doesn’t really work. Anyone have any advice/tips on what you’re doing to stay in the green?

Answer

I’m eliminating all the extras first. From snake oils to inoculants, etc. I’ll likely no-till some soybeans and just manage weed pressure as necessary. If I get an opportunity to sell in the fall, I’m likely to sell a little more than normal so I only have to handle it once. Hopefully the markets give us a weather premium at some point. The net of it all is break even this year will be a win in my book.

Answer

Text or call me I'd like to see if I can help you out! ************

Answer

Knowing what your breakeven is to grow the crop is essential. Wants & needs are next. Price of machinery ( will it last a couple years? )  if prices stay below profit, I'm just going to buckle down and ride the storm out. I won't skimp on fertilizer, seed, herbicides. Opportunities will arise to those who can survive because some wont.

Answer

Some years it just plain stinks no matter what you do. Things aren't so rosy west of you into CO either. Start talking with your banker now if you haven't already. Let them know what outlook you are looking at and make sure they don't have concerns over it. One of the worst things you can do is keep the bank in the dark. We are slimming down our equipment line this year to cut costs (maintenance costs and payments), partly due to current price climate and part due to likely losing over half our acres in the next month. Beyond that, it's skinny down the inputs as much as possible. There's just a point where you have to decide, is it more harm than help to cut this input? After that you're kinda there and have to ride it out. In years like this we cut back on early fertilizer, then if the outlook turns favorable, we come back and side/top dress the rest on. Skimping on pre herbicide for corn is one thing we won't do as it usually hurts more than the saving in costs helps. Or we might toss corn out all together and look at more milo or proso millet.

Answer

lot of praying

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how are you guys staying profitable?

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