Items: Management & Finance
Use Your RADAR as a Decision-Making Guide
By Laura Powers | KFBM Area Extension Specialist
Published on Feb. 27, 2026
As a farm manager, as a leader, as a human, our days are spent making decisions. From deciding what (or if) we eat breakfast to when and how much of grain to contract, the process of making decisions is fundamentally the same.
Cow-Calf Profitability Estimates for 2025 and 2026 (Spring Calving Herd)
By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor,
Jonathan Shepherd | Extension Specialist,
and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 27, 2026
The purpose of this article is to examine cow-calf profitability for a spring calving herd that sold weaned calves in the fall of 2025 and provide an estimate of profitability for the upcoming year, 2026. Table 1 summarizes estimated costs for a well-managed spring-calving cowherd for 2025. Every operation is different, so producers s
Grain Profitability Outlook 2026
By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 27, 2026
Although grain prices have come down considerably from their highs a few years ago, they have either stabilized or increased slightly in the last year. Current 2026 new-crop Futures prices are around $4.60/bu for corn, $11.20/bu for soybeans (2/17/26). Compared to a year ago, this is a similar price for corn and $.60/bu increase for so
Understanding SCO and ECO After the Big Beautiful Bill: Expanded Protection for Shallow Losses
By Grant Gardner | Assistant Extension Professor
Published on Jan. 28, 2026
The Big Beautiful Bill, passed on July 4, 2025, made significant changes to the farm safety net and crop insurance subsidies.
Farmland Sales and Taxes
By Suzy Martin | KFBM Area Extension Specialist
Published on Jan. 28, 2026
Generally, the sale of farmland triggers taxes in the year of the sale. Disregarding any depreciable items that are part of the sale, the tax treatment is long-term capital gains. That is assuming the property has been held at least one year. The capital gain is calculated based on the sale price minus the adjusted basis of the property.
2025 Overview & 2026 Economic Outlook for Kentucky Agriculture
By Grant Gardner | Assistant Extension Professor,
Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor,
Jerry Pierce | KFBM Program Coordinator,
Jill Stowe | Professor,
Jordan Shockley | Associate Extension Professor,
Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor,
Tim Woods | Extension Professor,
and Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Dec. 29, 2025
2025 Overview
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 interruptions, military c
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.
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. Feed prices have remained relatively low, which continues to impact cost of gain in cattle growing programs.