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Wheat Alternatives

February 17, 2025 by karli.kaase

Wheat Alternatives: Maximizing Profitability in a Tough Market
With wheat prices in Texas steadily declining, farmers are once again facing tough decisions about how to maximize returns on their crops. As cash wheat prices dip below the breakeven point, alternative uses for wheat—such as grazing or baling—may offer better profitability. This year, with drier conditions than last and future wheat prices still below breakeven, it’s more important than ever to carefully evaluate your options. By comparing wheat for grain, grazing, and hay, we can determine which strategy is most financially viable given the current market. [Read more…] about Wheat Alternatives

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Examining the 2025 Cotton Budgets

January 29, 2025 by andrew.wright

Picture of cotton at sunset

Cotton on the Texas A&M AgriLife Farm in Snook, Texas on Sept. 9, 2021. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)

The 2025 crop and livestock budgets will soon be available on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Economics website.  In today’s post, we break down the District 1 and District 2 cotton budgets and discuss what they imply about cotton production in 2025. [Read more…] about Examining the 2025 Cotton Budgets

Filed Under: Business Management, Cotton, Risk Management

Input Costs in 2025

January 17, 2025 by andrew.wright

Picture of a stack of coinsAs we enter a new year, producers are making plans for a new crop.  Those plans will depend in part on their expectations regarding their costs of production.  In this post, we’ll discuss our expectations for five important costs in 2025. [Read more…] about Input Costs in 2025

Filed Under: Business Management, Corn, Cotton, Crops, Risk Management, Sorghum, Uncategorized, Wheat

Ag Economic on the Plains – Year in Review

December 19, 2024 by pancho.abello

(Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)

Welcome to our final post of the year. Today, we will review the economic topics that garnered the most attention in 2024 and discuss some of the challenges we anticipate in the upcoming year. Andrew and I are wrapping up the blog for 2024. Enjoy this Holiday Season, and see you all next year!

 

 

 

[Read more…] about Ag Economic on the Plains – Year in Review

Filed Under: Business Management, Corn, Cotton, High Plains Ag Week, Uncategorized, Wheat

Management Information System

December 4, 2024 by karli.kaase

Photo by Laura McKenzie

In today’s competitive agricultural environment, a Management Information System (MIS) it’s a necessity. Whether you’re managing a small family farm or a large commercial ranch, this tool can help you make data-driven decisions, improve efficiency, and achieve your goals. [Read more…] about Management Information System

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Using Financial Ratios to Manage Debt, part 2

November 22, 2024 by andrew.wright

Four jars filled with varying amounts of coinsDoes your business generate enough income to make scheduled debt and lease payments?  If necessary, could that income also cover payments on additional debt?  In today’s post, we’ll look at a set of financial measures that can help you answer these important questions. [Read more…] about Using Financial Ratios to Manage Debt, part 2

Filed Under: Business Management, Risk Management

Use Financial Ratios to Manage Debt

November 7, 2024 by andrew.wright

Picture of piggy bank holding an umbrellaCan you borrow to finance new purchases when you need to?  Or will borrowing more put your business at risk of bankruptcy?  Your ability to answer these questions accurately is an important part of managing your business for long-term success.  In today’s blog we’ll look at some information taken from a farm’s business records that can help you make financially responsible borrowing decisions.

[Read more…] about Use Financial Ratios to Manage Debt

Filed Under: Business Management, Risk Management, Uncategorized

USDA Management Tool to Help Mitigate Drought Losses – PRF

October 30, 2024 by karli.kaase

In recent years, drought has been a common occurrence in Texas. The U.S. Currently, the Drought Monitor reported that approximately 90.5% of Texas is experiencing some level of drought as of October 22, 2024 (Fig 1).  Producers are increasingly adopting the USDA’s Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance (PRF), recognizing its crucial role in supporting ranchers during these challenging times. Texas has enrolled 42.8 million acres in this program in 2024 (a 191% increase from 2011). The most exciting factor of this program is that it showed positive net benefit of indemnities over premiums in many cases. But most importantly, it generated significant payments in those years when it was needed most. [Read more…] about USDA Management Tool to Help Mitigate Drought Losses – PRF

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Considering the Impact of Loan Structure on Loan Cost

October 16, 2024 by andrew.wright

Image of a calculator, pen, and paperAn important part of managing a farm business is managing debt.  Producers who utilize debt effectively can increase the profitability of their operation.  However, borrowing comes at a cost.  Today, we’ll discuss the different types of loans available to producers and their structures. We’ll also look at how different loan structures impact the cost of borrowing.

[Read more…] about Considering the Impact of Loan Structure on Loan Cost

Filed Under: Business Management, Risk Management

Understanding the Relationship Between Cotton Classing and Cotton Prices

October 2, 2024 by andrew.wright

Picture of cotton in a field

Cotton on the Texas A&M AgriLife Farm in Snook, Texas on Sept. 9, 2021. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)

How does cotton quality impact the price someone pays for it?  In this post, we discuss how cotton is classed and how the classification of upland cotton might inform cotton prices. [Read more…] about Understanding the Relationship Between Cotton Classing and Cotton Prices

Filed Under: Cotton, Marketing Plan

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Welcome!

The Amarillo Econ blog is a platform that provides regular updates to stakeholders in the world of agriculture on agricultural markets, research findings from agricultural economists, current issues facing the field of agriculture, and the implications of regularly released USDA reports.

We will also use the blog and social media under the Amarillo AgEcon banner to announce new tools and programs conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension faculty and staff.

There are two main types of blog posts on this page;

High Plains Ag Week: These posts talk a bit about the market movement over the week in corn, wheat, cotton, and fat and feeder cattle. We’ll also provide some insight into potential market movers and upcoming events for the following week. Additionally we’ll highlight interesting news stories from the week, and provide a list of upcoming deadlines for things like insurance and USDA program signups.

It Depends:

Where ‘High Plains Ag Week’ will mostly be posts about current events, the series called ‘It Depends’ functions more as an educational outlet. We’ll look at current events, or things we’re reading about and find interesting, and examine them through the lens of economics. We hope to use ‘It Depends’ to provide some answers to everyday questions from the world of economics, particularly as those questions relate to agriculture. On that note, if there are topics that you are interested in hearing about please let us know!

 

Whether you’re a farmer or rancher, in rural real estate, work in the commodity markets, provide products and services to producers, or you’re just new to the field of agriculture and want to learn more, we’ve got something for you.

 

You can follow us on Twitter @AmarilloAgecon, and like us on Facebook at Amarillo AgEcon.

 

Recent Posts

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  • Grazing Management Plans: Planning for Pasture, Performance, and Profit
  • Changes to the ARC-CO Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

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