Farm & Markets
Corn or soybeans next spring?
A family farm in Iowa with 1,200 acres
In November, a family farm decides how to split next year's acres between corn and soybeans. They also decide when to buy fertilizer and fuel.
The trade-off
In a good year corn earns more per acre, but it needs far more fertilizer and drying fuel. Soybeans cost less to grow. The family has to commit to seed and fertilizer orders before winter.
The work
On Farm & Markets:
- Farm counties and Farm states. What neighbors plant and how their yields have run.
- Feed and fuel. Diesel, propane and fertilizer costs, month by month.
- Your cost bridge. Today's cash corn and soybean meal prices against a year ago, priced into the feed that livestock buyers nearby use. It shows how hard those buyers are being squeezed.
- Look ahead and Plan: now through next year. The price outlook and the costs on one timeline.
- Supply events and Monthly brief. Anything that could swing prices: weather, export demand, trade news.
The decision
The family moves 200 acres from corn to soybeans. They lock in half their fertilizer now, while it costs less than last year, and wait on the rest.
Why it matters
The choice rests on this year's numbers, not on habit or what people are saying at the coffee shop.
See it with real data: the free Polk County, Iowa sample, or what's inside each desk. Every plan starts with a 7-day trial.
The people, places and numbers in these stories are made up to show how the pages work. The pages and the public data behind them are real.
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