Jason Fewell, Dr. Kevin Dhuyvetter, Dr. Michael Langemeier National Farm Business Management Conference Fargo, ND June 14, 2010

 To compare key economic measures and determine what might be leading to differences  Bergtold and Funk (2009) found that while many no-till farms are inefficient, farmers using no-till are closer to optimal production levels than those using conventional tillage.

 Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) ◦ Farm management program where economists work with farm families to:  develop sound accounting practices,  improve decision making,  compare financial performance with similar farms, and  Integrate tax planning, marketing, and asset investment strategies. ◦ More information available at: 

Five-year Averages for North Central Kansas Farmers* Conventional TillNo-Till** Number of Farms13160 Mean Net Farm Income ($/Crop Acre)$52$62 Mean Crop Income ($/Crop Acre)$140$166 Average Crop Acres Farmed1,0071,405 *Data are from 2004 to **Not all farms practiced no-tillage for the entire five years, i.e. some may have only been no-till in % of the farms are crop farms, and 34.6% are a combination of crop and livestock.

Number of Farmers Growing Four Major Crops over 5-year Period Conventional-TillNo-Till Wheat Corn 6536 Sorghum Soybeans Total Number of Farms 13160

Conventional-TillNo-Till Operating Profit Margin** Asset Turnover Ratio* Total Expense Ratio* Adjusted Total Expense Ratio** Economic Total Expense Ratio** Crop Machinery Expense Ratio Crop Fertilizer Expense Ratio Crop Fuel Expense Ratio** Crop Herbicide Expense Ratio** **, * indicates the means are statistically different at 1% and 5% levels, respectively.

No-till Experience* Farm Size (total crop acres) Operating Profit Margin Asset Turnover Ratio Total Expense Ratio0.066 Adjusted Total Expense Ratio0.182 Economic Total Expense Ratio0.235 Crop Machinery Expense Ratio0.002 * No-till Experience is the number of years the farmer has practiced no-till

 Must be no-till on 100% of acres ◦ Difficult to compare across farmers who use no-till on some crops but till other crops  Study income opportunities by sequestering carbon using no-till  How does profit change in first year or two of adoption  Determine motivation for adopting no-tillage ◦ Increased profits ◦ Increased acreage ◦ Environmental concerns ◦ Others