Purdue Extension Webinar Offers Guidance on Balancing Cash Rents, Operating Revenue

Nov 26, 2015

By Darrin Pack

Experts from the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture will lead a webinar Dec. 8 to help farmers determine how to balance the costs of long-term cash rents with declining operating revenue.

The webinar will run from 1-2 p.m. EST.

“Indiana corn and soybean farmers have seen a sharp decline in gross revenue in 2014 and 2015,” said Jenna Nees, Purdue Extension educator in Putnam County and webinar coordinator. “Unfortunately, the decline in revenues is not being matched by a decline in costs, and this is causing farmers to ask if they should continue to rent land if they are expecting to lose money.”

Webinar hosts are Jim Mintert, director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture, and Michael Langemeier, associate director. They will discuss the implications of farming a property at a loss when income falls short of expenses.

Participants will learn how to make budgeting decisions using the Long-term Cash Rent Tool, available on the Center for Commercial Agriculture website.

The webinar is sponsored by the Extension Women in Agriculture team and is open to everyone. There is no cost to view the webinar, but registration is required.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.