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Be careful if cutting back on 2025 crop inputs

An agronomist says with commodity prices so low, farmers are looking for more ways to lower crop production costs in 2025.

Scott Rowntree with Pioneer in Wisconsin says corn acreage in his state stays consistent because of the dairy industry’s need for corn silage, but growers focused on grain are looking for ways to be profitable. Rowntree says like every year, start with the basics. “Know your cost of production for the 2025 year and then, you know, take advantage of opportunities to sell some grain if you’re a grain farmer and make some profitable sales, and then figure out areas of the budget where you can cut.”

Rowntree says growers should be careful when cutting inputs to save money. “Start to trim the things off the top that, you know, might not be the five, ten, twenty bushel type factors. Maybe there are certain things like fungicide use or a biological product you might be testing out on all of your acres in 2024. Maybe there’s not room in the budget in 25.”

Rowntree says some things never change. “We don’t want to be cutting good things like hybrid variety genetics, things like base soil fertility and pH. Keep all of those things in line and you can still raise a pretty darned good crop.”

Rowntree says the milder weather is also allowing farmers to get more fieldwork like manure application and soil testing done, giving them a better understanding of where fertility adjustments can be made to save money.