Nebraska FARMcast - Farm and Ranch Management

Charalampos Mavroutsikos is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is one of the authors of a new study looking at the role of premium subsidies in crop insurance, focusing on government objectives and producer attitudes. He discusses the history of crop insurance, the study’s findings and a proposed alternative desig...

On April 22nd, the U.S. Small Business Administration released guidelines for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF), a fund that is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.  The Act appropriated $28.6 billion dollars for restaurant industry focused funds.  Recipients do not need to repay the awarded funds as long as the monies are used for eligible expenses by March 11, 2023.&nbs...

Allan Vyhnalek is Nebraska Extension's educator for farm and ranch succession and transition.  With spring planting season upon us, many farmers are in a hurry and may be stressed, busy and short on sleep, which means family members and co-workers can get short with each other. Vyhnalek discusses some best practices to use when disagreements arise on the farm — namely, the seemingly simple ac...

Nick Streff, director of the USDA NASS Northern Plains Regional Field Office, and Elliott Dennis, assistant professor of livestock marketing in UNL's Department of Agricultural Economics, recap their April 29, 2021, webinar on USDA NASS Cattle Reports and how producers can put them to use.  View the full webinar at https://farm.unl.edu/webinars .

Becky Vogt is the survey research manager for the Nebraska Rural Poll at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  She discusses findings of the 2020 rural poll, which asked rural Nebraskans to evaluate the resilience of their communities, and how that relates to individual well-being. 

Jay Parsons is a professor and farm and ranch management specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  For agricultural producers, decision-making plays an important and everyday role in the operation. Making decisions in such a dynamic industry that includes uncertainties such as weather, government policies, and competing short- and long-term...

Wheat is just emerging from dormancy and growers are getting their first look at how the crop faired through the winter months. Wheat fields planted behind fallow emerged in the fall and have established well. Depleted soil water and dry conditions have slowed wheat emergence in fields that have been continuously cropped.  With: Dave Petersen, Area Claims Manager, Rural Community Insurance Se...

Glennis McClure is an extension educator and farm and ranch management analyst in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Commodity prices have risen over the last several months, and so have major input expenses, such as fuel, fertilizer, and even the price of pesticides. When crop prices rise, profits do not always follow incrementally.  The who...

Daniela Mattos is an assistant professor of practice here the Department of Agricultural Economics, and the chair of the Rural Economic and Community Vitality Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  An opportunity for rural community leaders, professionals and citizens alike to learn about economic and community development tools and strategies is now available here in UNL’s Departmen...

Austin Duerfeldt is an extension educator and agricultural economist based in the southeast region of the state.  While it’s not practical or possible for every farm to purchase more ground or rent additional acres, it is possible for every operation to look at ways to be more efficient with what they currently have. Many times, increases in efficiency will lead to greater profitability and m...

Enterprise budget templates were recently updated for producers’ use to estimate sheep and goat revenue and expenses and consider projected breakeven scenarios. Using a west central Nebraska representative sheep flock with 250 ewes and a 70 head meat goat herd, the budgets are prepared for producers to use as guides when entering their own information using an Excel spreadsheet format.   Exte...

Jim Jansen is an agricultural economist with Nebraska Extension, and co-author of the annual Nebraska Farm Real Estate Report.  Nebraska contains over 45 million acres of agricultural land used as cropland, grazing land, hayland and more. About 56% of that ag land in the state is owned by farmers and rancher, while absentee landowners own the remaining 46%, which equates to nearly 20 million...

Dr. Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel is a Nebraska Extension educator with Rural Prosperity Nebraska.  One byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the growth of remote work. And, for the people that can work anywhere, that also may mean they can live anywhere. For rural communities, where population loss is often an issue, this may present an opportunity to attract new residents – that is if these...

John Westra is a professor and program leader in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Reducing carbon emissions has become a central focus in addressing environmental and sustainability goals for governments and many private sector industries. That means agriculture producers and landowners may have decisions to make if they are approached about car...

With Katie Samples Dean, attorney, and Paul Neiffer, CPA Proposed changes to capital gains have farmers and ranchers wondering what it means for passing their operations to the next generation.  Katie Samples Dean, an attorney specializing in agricultural law, and Paul Neiffer, a Certified Public Accountant, will discuss the proposals and potential impacts as it relates to farm estate and tra...

Developing operating policies for a farm business can be time consuming and inconvenient. The easy thing to do may be to leave policies to chance. But this can run the risk of creating confusion and dissatisfaction for farm employees. And it can be costly for operators.  To discuss more about farm business policies, how they can be beneficial and how to go about creating them, is Larry Van Ta...

Dave Aiken is a professor and water and agricultural law specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics here at UNL.  He looks at an issue that is really making its way on the radar of many producers across Nebraska – that’s Carbon Markets and Carbon banks. He discusses the ag practices that hold the greatest potential, who is buying carbon offsets, voluntary vs. regular carbon market...

Elliott Dennis is an assistant professor and livestock economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  He discusses what the USDA-NASS Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report can tell us about production, as well as some new tools coming to assist producers in utilizing that data in their operations.

With Margaret Milligan, program associate, Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska Think of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as a farm subscription program. Traditionally, consumers purchase “shares” of the farm in the late winter and early spring, then their investment is returned to them throughout the season in the form of a weekly “share” of farm products – usually a box or bag packed with seasona...

Nick Streff, USDA NASS, and Elliott Dennis, UNL Agricultural Economics, recap their March 25 webinar on the use of NASS hog reports.  Nick Streff is the Director of the USDA NASS Northern Plains Regional Field Office in Lincoln NE. Nick oversees data collection, analysis and publication of NASS estimates for the state’s of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Prior to moving to Ne...

For farmers and ranchers, both cash flow and profitability are important. But, equally important, is an understanding of the distinctions between the two. Tina Barrett is a financial consultant and director of Nebraska Farm Business, Incorporated., which started in 1976 as part of Nebraska Extension, and works with producers from across the state to provide financial and management assistance.&nbs...

Refinancing can get a bad rap, but it may be beneficial for farmers and ranchers. Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Educator and Panhandle Regional Economist, discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of refinancing, how it impacts your balance sheet and what a banker is looking at when discussing refinancing. 

Marilyn Schlake is an extension educator with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Prosperity Nebraska at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She discusses how Gallup's Builder Profile 10 (BP10) training can be applied to helping individuals in rural communities realize their talents and come together to pursue common goals. 

With: Jim Jansen, Agricultural Systems Economist, Nebraska Extension The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2020-21 report represents the 43rd edition to the annual series. These reports provide an important insight on agricultural land market dynamics for stakeholders across Nebraska. In today’s market, where market transactions exceeding $1 million dollars are the norm, objective market...

Dr. Cory Walters is an associate professor and grain economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He discusses recently released price projections for crop insurance and how producers can prepare for possibly unfavorable fall commodity prices.