Overview of dairy sector trends and implications

This update aims to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the current market conditions, facilitating informed decision-making in the dairy sector.

Developing a Grain Marketing Plan

There are four major steps in developing your grain marketing plan. Step 1: Determine expected crop production and cost of production As the first step in developing your marketing plan, you should detail the basic information about the crop to be marketed, including the expected crop production. The proportion of expected production or expected crop […]

Identifying Factors of a Grain Marketing Plan

There are four major factors that influence a grain marketing plan. These are personal feelings and attitudes about marketing, the financial needs of the farm business, seasonal price patterns, and the current price outlook. Personal feelings and attitudes about marketing The first factor is your personal feelings and attitudes about marketing. Each farmer will differ […]

Defining a Grain Marketing Plan

Most farmers develop excellent crop production plans each year, including strategies for weed control, fertilization, tillage, and match these practices with financial resources. A grain marketing plan identifies a farmer’s specific price objectives as the production and/or storage season progresses. The marketing plan identifies strategies available to achieve the specific price objectives. Like successful production […]

Fixed vs Variable Costs of Farming

Fixed costs are those expenses that occur regardless if we grow a crop or not. Variable costs are those cash expenses needed to grow, harvest and store a crop

Using the Crop Enterprise Budget Tool

The Crop Enterprise Budget Tool spreadsheet developed by the Division of Extension at UW-Madison provides a straightforward method to arrive at a cost of production for crops on a per acre and per bushel basis.

Terminating a farmland lease or tenancy

It is important to consider how and when a farmland lease may end. State law provides default rules for termination in the event that a landlord and tenant fail to discuss and document this topic.

Negotiating the Farmland Lease

Like any contract, a lease is a package deal. Landlords and tenants should carefully consider all of the terms offered by the other party before making a decision.

Is my Wisconsin farm lease enforceable?

Under Wisconsin law, a “lease” means an agreement, whether oral or written, for transfer of possession of real property, or both real and personal property, for a definite period of time. These leases are also a type of contract, so principles of contract law apply too.

March 2024 Dairy Market Update: Markets waiting on demand

The All Milk price and Class III milk prices have shown a modest start in the early months of 2024. Prices have not reached the lows of 2023; the most noteworthy development has been the robustness of Class IV prices, bolstered by strong butter prices.

Wisconsin Farming: Insights from the 2022 Census of Agriculture

Every five years the USDA undertakes a detailed inventory of farming operations across the country. The most recent 2022 Census of Agriculture provides a snapshot of the nation’s farming economy, including demographics, production practices, land use, and economic trends.

Setting Risk Management Goals for Your Farm Business

There are four strategies that can be pursued to help manage farm business risks.

Counselors have a place in agriculture

Understanding what mental health is, the stigma around it, and the benefits of counseling and other resources available can help you decide if it is right for you.