Farmers could see greater financial rewards by focusing on production costs than expanding the amount of land they operate, according to data from farms across Illinois, say three U-Illinois economists. Brandy Krapf, Dwight Raab and Bradley Zwilling compared the per-acre cost of seed, fertilizer, pesticides, equipment, fuel and utilities for three categories of farms – one group was 1,200-2,000 acres, another was 2,000-3,000 acres and the third was over 3,000 acres.
“For 2013, total crop cost in northern and central Illinois show little variance as farm size increases. Southern Illinois shows a higher crop cost for the over 3,000 acre group” they say at farmdoc daily. “Develop and nurture the relationships you have with your input suppliers to best manage your farming operation.”