Farm thinking, Am I right?

Question

With grain prices being at a high of $19.80 per bushel, if a farmer can get almost $20 per bushel and say he is able to farm 90 bushels an acre. Well if he farms 400 acres of land with grain, would his total profit (Before operating costs and living costs) be $720,000?

Answer 1

not much profit out of that money but i prefer the lifestyle no traffic gridlock to go to work ,working from home more time with family and a good environment for children to be involved in

Answer 2

Costs to the farmer (and I'm sure I'm forgetting many) to subtract from your "profit."

Mortgage

Loans

Crop insurance

Fertilizer

Insecticides

Fungicides

Cost of seed

Cost of labor

Cost of repairs to equipment

Fuel costs for planting, spraying, harvesting, drying, storing

Cost of silo

Irregation cost to run the pivot pipes, or have someone moving irregation pipe for the farmer.

Purchase of water to irregate the crop.

Taxes

Well, do you get the idea that profits to the farmer might be nothing like you are expecting?

There are farmers around me who are no better off, even though wheat prices are outrageous.  The cost of farming has risen and gobbled up any profits they might have made with the higher prices.  Remember most fertilizers, inceticides, fungicides, ect, are all oil based.

Seems like farmers should be making money hand over fist right now, doesn't it?  Some of them are actually going out of business, because they cannot afford the higher prices for everything.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 3

Profit=Total Income-Total Outputs.

The $720,000, of Total Income looks like a nice number, but once you pencil it all out, farmers really aren't making much more of a profit as they did ten years ago.

Answer 4

Sounds good till you realize that the farmer is the only one who buys everything at retail and sell at wholesale.

Answer 5

it would be around $712,800 if you dont include intital costs, operating costs, and cost of living. but all of those costs are very high too right now