Category Archives: Published Works

Making up for Late Starts to Planting

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In recent years, the emphasis on getting crops in the ground early seems to trump all else. But when Mother Nature sets you back, attention to other details may help make up for any potential yield losses.

The more uniformly corn emerges, the more equally plants compete for resources and the higher their ultimate yield. To improve uniformity, ensure the main frame of the corn planter is level once it has been placed in the ground and pulled forward several hundred feet. Check for planter wear that can contribute to vibrations or bouncing in the field and only drive the recommended speed (manuals often say 4.5-5mph), to avoid skips.

Until April 26 (May 1 in <3000 CHU areas), for best results, wait for soil temperatures to read above 10°C (50°F) around 11:30 am using a 10 cm (4”) soil thermometer.

Know your 2013 Cost of Production

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Calculating cost of production (COP) is an important part of marketing but not every farmer keeps a close eye on their COP.

OMAF offers some tips on developing a COP budget, which is impossible without good farm records. While the format can vary, typically a COP budget includes gross revenue, direct variable costs, indirect variable costs, fixed costs and net profit or loss. Several other resources are available to help farmers ensure their COP calculations will have maximum impact on a business. Farms.com Market School’s 10th Episode is an 8 minute in-depth analysis of COP calculations, particularly on a per bushel basis, and their benefit to any marketing plan. In addition to enhancing marketing plans, COP calculations can be useful benchmarking tools.

Refer to the TIP report (derived from the entire AgriStability database) for industry benchmarks based on similar farm types and income ranges.

A year in review…

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2012 was an explosive year as far as writing contracts went! For a look back, check out my recently updated Portfolio. And stay tuned for more! With a number of contracts already booked into May 2013, there are many more exciting topics yet to come.