Why Planting Date Yield Response Costs More Than Expected
A late-planted field rarely looks like a disaster at harvest, but the loss adds up quietly over seasons. Learn how to read planting timing against your own yield records and adjust your plan.
Blog
Analysis and USDA program guides for US row-crop farmers — crop yield trends, price movements and EQIP funding, explained beyond the raw numbers.
How the Commitments of Traders Report Signals Row Crop Prices
The Commitments of Traders report shows how futures traders are positioned each week. Learn how to read it so you can time row crop sales more deliberately.
How Actual Production History Records Set Your Crop Insurance Guarantee
Actual production history is the yield record crop insurers use to set your guarantee before planting. Errors in that record carry forward into every insured acre until they are corrected.
Harvest Loss Measurement Shows What Your Yield Monitor Misses
Your yield monitor only counts grain that reaches the tank. Harvest loss measurement shows how much escapes from the header, cleaning shoe, and rear of the combine, so you can fix leaks before they cost you money.
Conservation Stewardship Program Enrollment Rewards Existing Conservation Work
Conservation Stewardship Program contracts reward producers for conservation they already maintain. Here is how ranking, five-year terms, and enhancements work together.
How Revenue Protection Harvest Price Option Mechanics Shape Your Coverage
The harvest price option can raise your Revenue Protection guarantee when fall prices climb, but it carries a premium cost. Here is how the mechanics work and how to decide each year.
Grain Moisture Correction Makes Your Yield Numbers Comparable
Harvest moisture can inflate or deflate bushel counts before you compare any field. Grain moisture correction puts every load on the standard basis so your yield records mean the same thing.
How Commodity Price Volatility Windows Shape Your Harvest Marketing Plan
Price spikes don't last. Understanding when volatility creates real selling windows—and when it's noise—lets you capture upside without chasing every tick. This is how successful growers time harvest sales.
EQIP Soil Health Contract Renewal Timing Protects Your Long-Term Cost-Share Access
Most row-crop producers treat EQIP contract renewal as a passive administrative task. In reality, the timing and mechanics of renewing your soil health practices directly determine whether you can re-enroll, stack new practices, and maintain continuous cost-share access over a multi-year farm management cycle.
Inter-field yield comparison reveals which fields drive farm profit
Most row-crop farmers average yield across all fields and miss the real profit drivers. Inter-field yield comparison isolates which specific acres are outperforming or dragging down your operation—and tells you exactly where to invest time and capital next season.
Local Grain Basis Mechanics Determine Your Actual Row Crop Return
The price you receive for corn or soybeans is never the Chicago futures contract price. Local grain basis—the difference between futures and your elevator's actual offer—determines your real profit, and it shifts with harvest timing, transportation costs, and elevator inventory needs.
How EQIP Amendment Timing Protects Your Mid-Contract Practice Changes
EQIP contracts are not locked in stone once you sign. Mid-contract amendments let you swap practices, adjust acreage, or pivot your conservation plan—but only if you file them at the right time and follow NRCS verification steps.