Enterprise budgets are designed to help farmers estimate profitability in the current and future growing seasons, and are also used by lenders and other agricultural-related professionals.  Expected year-to-year changes in profitability can help farmers make decisions related to cropping decisions (e.g. Should I plant wheat this fall?  Should I plant more soybeans vs. corn this spring).  Longer-term profitability changes can help farmers make decisions related to negotiations on cash rent.

Several enterprise budgets are available on our Budgets and Decision Tools page. You'll now notice a new format for the corn-soybean budgets has been developed to give it additional capabilities compared to the previous versions.  Over the years, I have received requests to add various capabilities to these budgets and this new format/structure incorporates these suggestions and more. 

These new additions include:

•   Fertilizer calculator
•   Storage calculator
•   Ability to separate out trucking costs
•   Use of crop-share instead of cash rent
•   Customizable machinery operations, including incorporating cover crops

The downside is the new budget has additional sheets and additional entries.  Not everyone will want these additional capabilities so the original corn-soybean budgets for Central Kentucky and Western Kentucky will remain available, at least in the foreseeable future.  The wheat budget will have a similar format and will be available next year.

Comments and suggestions are encouraged and welcomed.  

Recommended Citation Format:

Halich, G. "New Features to Enterprise Budgets." Economic and Policy Update (21):10, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, October 28th, 2021.  

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Author(s) Contact Information: 

Greg Halich  |  Associate Extension Professor  |  greg.halich@uky.edu