Planning for Profits

Dec 02, 2021


Corn

Know your Cost of Production

With the 2021 season behind us our thoughts have turned to planning for 2022. Many of you started that thinking process during harvest and decided to buy/book and apply fall fertilizer. In general, fertilizer prices have remained strong throughout the fall with potentially more upside. Some supply concerns have made the news as well. We have worked hard with our suppliers to secure fertilizer tons for the remainder of the fall application season and to fill and re-fill our bins for spring application. Premier’s storage capacity is one of the largest in the area which helps lessen our dependence on shipments in the spring. Working with your local agronomist to plan your needs for spring will help us forecast product amounts and timing of those tons for application in the spring.

With the cards we have been dealt going into 2022, it is very important to KNOW YOUR COST OF PRODUCTION and find a commodity price that locks profit in. The simplest rules of economics are the ones that stand the test of time. The one I’m thinking of is “it’s hard to go broke making money.” Things to be considered to that statement are your combined input expenses such as: starter fertilizer, corrective fertilizer, seed, soil testing, fertilizer services (spreading, etc), scouting, weed control, insect control, fungus control, fuel, lubrication and energy costs, labor costs, repair/maintenance costs, land rents/ownership costs and interest and depreciation costs. When all these costs are calculated per acre, you have your cost of production. If that can be divided by an average yield and the price per bushel is less than what you can contract for, it makes sense to look at purchasing inputs at the current prices and lock in a bit of the output. Budgeting and knowing your costs will be extremely important in the farming game for 2022. The agronomy sales staff have several examples of budgets available for people to look at and would be happy to walk people through them with you.

 

Ken Jahnke

Sales Manager

 
 

Latest Posts

Mar 22, 2024

Yesterday, March 21, 2024, Governor Tony Evers signed legislation into law making propane Autogas available for self-service dispensing by the general public in Wisconsin.

Mar 05, 2024

With spring just around the corner, your cooperative is gearing up for another one of our seasonal rushes... spring planting season. Not only will we see our total employee count peak for the year, but nearly every asset in the company will be in use. While many businesses have equipment and buildings that are in use all year long, our grain and agronomy divisions have millions of dollars invested in some assets that only get used for a few months out of the year. It is critical that these assets are fully operational and ready to go when the season starts. Our agronomy operations team has spent the winter months going through all the equipment to make sure it’s in good working order, unwrapping and greasing up the new sprayers, trucks and other equipment we’ve purchased this year, updating technology and precision tools on existing equipment, and conducting hours of training on its use and safety. Our team is prepared to put these assets to use and help their producer members maximize their profits in 2024.

Mar 01, 2024
The biologicals market is growing rapidly in both size and number of products available, making it increasingly hard to know what works, which products are worth the investment, and how to place for best results. To help our customers navigate this new world, our Premier Agronomy team will be using the WinField® United BioVerified™ designation to help simplify biological recommendations.