Surviving High Input Costs in Crop Production

Manage Costs, Maximize Profits

The following articles include practical recommendations and projected on-farm savings for reducing input costs. Many of the costs used in these articles were based on crop budgets revised in early fall 2008.  To estimate today's savings, use the link at right to access 2011 crop budgets and reference these numbers in making any calculations.

Production Practices

• Reduce Soybean Planting Populations (Save $10.66 to $18.57/acre)
• Eliminate Soybean Inoculant in Fields with a History of Beans (Save $1.50/ac)
• Skip-Row Corn Offers Moisture Savings
• Eliminate One Field Operation (Save $8-$10/ acre)
• No-till Farming In Dryland Cropping Systems (Save $39.50/acre)
• No-till and Controlled Wheel Traffic Can Save Irrigation Water (Save $20.10 to $33.50/acre)

Soil Fertility

• Take Advantage of Manure Resources for Your Operation (Save $23.81 per acre)
• Eliminate Unnecessary Use of Phosphorus, Potassium and Sulfur Fertilizer (Save $118.56)
• Give Proper Nitrogen Credit for Legumes in Corn and Milo Rotations (Save $30-$80/ac)
• Credit Soil Organic Matter for Nitrogen (Save $18.75/acre)
• Credit Soil for Nitrate Nitrogen (Save $24/acre)

Machinery Management

• Share Machinery, Reduce Costs Through Joint Ownership
• Leasing Vs Buying Ag Machinery: Factors to Assess
• Leasing Vs Buying Ag Machinery: Weighing the Economics

Pest Management

• Using Resistant Varieties to Combat Soybean Diseases 
• IPM: As Important Now as Ever (Save $5-$10/ac)
• Managing Foliar Diseases of Winter Wheat with Fungicides (Save $10-$70/ac)
• Comparing Generic Versus Name Brand Herbicides (Save $5.50/ac)
• Approximate Retail Price of Selected Herbicides, Comparing 2008 & 2009

Production Management

• Using On-Farm Research to Evaluate Profitability
• Setting Realistic Yield Goals (Save $7.50-$42.50/ac)
• Harvesting Crop Residue: What’s it Worth?

Irrigation

• Using Irrigation Management Tools To Save Water And Energy ($20.12 an acre)
• Repair or Replace Inefficient Irrigation Pumping Plants (Save $16.52/ac) 
• Using Cutoff Ratio to Fine-Tune Furrow Irrigations (Save $14/acre)
• Repair Leaky Gates/Gaskets And Eliminate A Set (Save $32.10/acre)

Grain Storage & Handling

• Fill Drying Bins in Layers to Reduce Drying Time and Energy Cost (0.29-2.5¢/bu/pt of Moisture Removed)
• How to Reduce On-Farm Grain Drying Energy Costs
• Cost Saving Ideas When Using High-Speed, High-Capacity Dryers
• Harvest Soybeans at 13% Moisture (Save $11.48/acre)