Butterfat Continues to be a Major Driver of Milk Value

By Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Apr. 29, 2024

Kentucky dairy producers are ultimately paid based on the amount of skim milk and butterfat they produce. Needless to say, these two values greatly impact returns for dairy operations and the impact of butterfat has gotten larger over time.

Maximizing Value: 2024 Spring Application of Broiler Litter for Grain Crop Production

By Jordan Shockley | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Mar. 28, 2024

Spring is here and grain producers across the state are gearing up for planting.  One of the many decisions producers have to make before planting is in regard to their nutrient management plan.  Broiler litter provides a great opportunity as a complete fertilizer and is being produced and used throughout the state in grain production.  However,

The Ag Census Confirms Geographic and Commodity Shifts in the Kentucky Farm Economy

By Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Mar. 28, 2024

The twenty-year time frame between the latest USDA Ag Census (2022) released earlier this year and the 2002 Ag Census occurred during a period of dramatic changes in Kentucky agriculture.  During this two-decade period, the tobacco buyout was passed (in 2004) and implemented (2005-2014), the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board made significa

Stocker Outlook for 2024

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Mar. 28, 2024

Temperatures are getting warmer, the grass is getting greener, and the calf market is starting to take off.  These are tell-tale signs of spring in Kentucky, and we are experiencing all three.

Old Crop Balance Sheets and New Crop Projections: What would it take to get $6.00 Corn and $14.00 Soybeans?

By Grant Gardner | Assistant Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The first projections for the 2024/25 crop year were released on February 15th at the Ag Outlook Forum (AOF). These estimates indicate a more bearish situation in the 2024/25 marketing year than we are currently experiencing in 2023/24. As we came out of COVID/Russia-Ukraine-induced highs, prices have fallen rapidly.

Grain Profitability Outlook 2024

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

Grain prices have dropped dramatically in the last year.  Current prices for 2024 new crop delivery are around $4.15/bu for corn, $11.00/bu for soybeans (2/23/23).  This is a decrease of around $1.00/bu for corn and $1.75/bu for soybeans compared to what these prices were expected one year ago (see Figure 1).   

Price Dynamics at Kentucky Farmers Markets, 2021-2023

By Brett Wolff | Extension Specialist
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

In a previous Economic and Policy Update article, 2023 Kentucky Vegetable & Fr

2022 Tobacco Census Data for Kentucky

By Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The USDA conducts an agricultural census every five years with the latest released on February 13, 2024, reflecting data compiled from farm operations in 2022.  Below are some highlights from the 2022 Ag Census pertaining to Kentucky’s tobacco sector which arguably has experienced the largest structural change of any sector and state in U.S.

Cow-Calf Profitability Estimates for 2023 and 2024 (Spring Calving Herd)

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor, Jonathan Shepherd | Extension Specialist, and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The purpose of this article is to examine cow-calf profitability for a spring calving herd that sold weaned calves in the fall of 2023 and provide an estimate of profitability for the upcoming year, 2024.  Table 1 summarizes estimated costs for a well-managed spring-calving cowherd for 2023.  Every operation is different, so producers should eva

Weathering the Storm

By Jerry Pierce | KFBM Program Coordinator
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

“Agriculture is by nature a cyclical industry.” So said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in History of the Eighties - Lessons for the Future published in 1987. It still is, with net incomes cycling up and down over the decades. So how can farms “weather the storm” when farm income is cycling down?