New and updated farmer decision tools available
Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina and Iowa State Farm Management Specialist Kelvin Leibold have released two new farm decision tools on the Iowa State University Ag Decision Maker website. ARC-CO & PLC Per Acre Payment Estimator for Iowa, 2024-2025, uses reported and projected prices from USDA Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency to project county-level ARC-CO and PLC payments, and ARC-CO & PLC Per Acre Payment Projections by Crop and County for Iowa, 2019-23, provides projections on Iowa county level payments under ARC-CO and PLC for the 2022 crop as well as historical payment data for crop years 2019 through 2022. Plastina also updated the Estimated Costs of Crop Production in Iowa for the 2024 calendar year. The decision tool provides estimated costs of corn, corn silage, soybean, alfalfa, and pasture maintenance based on data from several sources, such has the annual Iowa Farm Business Association record summaries, production and costs data from the Departments of Economics, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and Agronomy at Iowa State University, and a survey of selected agricultural cooperatives and other input suppliers around the state. Plastina noted that farmers only have until March 15 to decide between ARC-CO and PLC.
Plastina's other recent tools include Suggested Closing Inventory Prices for 2023 Records, co-authored with Chad Hart and Lee Schulz, and Deductible Livestock Costs for Adjusting 2023 Income Tax Returns.
(Released January 2024)