Items: Management & Finance
The Economic Value of Applying Broiler Litter in the Fall 2025
By Jordan Shockley | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Nov. 21, 2025
Spring application of broiler litter is ideal for maximizing the economic value but faces challenges that include wet soil conditions, lack of time to spread litter near planting, and availability of litter in the spring.
Food Price Inflation Lingers
By Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Nov. 21, 2025
Food price inflation continues to be headline news. Following a sustained period of minimal food price increases (averaging 1.3%) during the 2015-2019 period, annual food price inflation in the United States spiked at 10% in 2022 in response to a wide variety of factors including fallout from Covid-19 supply chain interruption
2025 Fall KFBM Observations
Published on Oct. 31, 2025
The Kentucky Farm Business Management Program is a program of the Department of Agricultural Economi
Prospects for Winter Backgrounding 2025-2026
By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Oct. 31, 2025
Tight supplies and strong demand pushed cattle prices to unprecedented levels in 2025. As we write this in early October, calf prices are running over $1 per lb higher than fall of 2025 and heavy feeders are substantially higher as well.
More Base Acres, More Protection
By Grant Gardner | Assistant Extension Professor
Published on Oct. 31, 2025
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, makes a landmark change to federal farm programs.
Think Before You TikTok
By Meghan Planck | CCD Fellow
Published on Sep. 28, 2025
TikTok has exploded in popularity, and agriculture hasn’t been left behind. In 2023, agriculture-related content on TikTok racked up over 23 billion views, and the platform contributed $24.2 billion to the U.S. GDP. With its short, fast-paced videos and massive reach, it’s easy to wonder: Should your farm be on TikTok?
Strategic Farm Finance and Tax Management in Profitable Times
By Jonathan Shepherd | Extension Specialist and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Sep. 28, 2025
Authors: Jonathan D. Shepherd, David Bilderback, and Kenny Burdine
2024 Family Living and Net Farm Income
By Tarrah Hardin | KFBM Area Extension Specialist
Published on Aug. 31, 2025
Over the last few years, farmers across the state had to sharpen their pencil when it comes to the farm budget. One part of the budget should be a family living cost. The average family living cost was $100,358 or $8,363 per month in 2024 for the 90 farms in the Kentucky Farm Business (KFBM) family living data set.
2025 Farmland Values
By Steve Isaacs | Extension Professor
Published on Aug. 31, 2025
USDA releases the results of their annual survey of farmland values each August. The 2025 report indicates that national farm real estate values increased by 4.3% to an average of $4,350/ac. Kentucky farm real estate values increased 3.4% to an average of $5,480/ac.
Average KFBM Net Farm Income Dips Negative for the First Time in Decades
By Kayla Brashears | KFBM Area Extension Specialist
Published on Jul. 30, 2025
For the first time since the 1980s, the average Net Farm Income (NFI) among Kentucky Farm Business Management (KFBM) cooperators has fallen below zero, closing the production year at an average of ($20,522). This dramatic shift is a sharp reversal from the record high NFI in 2021 of $871,325.