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

2.  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.

3.  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:  http://www.agmanager.info/kfma

6. 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 2008. **Not all farms practiced no-tillage for the entire five years, i.e. some may have only been no-till in 2008. 65.4% of the farms are crop farms, and 34.6% are a combination of crop and livestock.

7. Number of Farmers Growing Four Major Crops over 5-year Period Conventional-TillNo-Till Wheat 12960 Corn 6536 Sorghum 12258 Soybeans 11660 Total Number of Farms 13160

8. Conventional-TillNo-Till Operating Profit Margin**0.0570.136 Asset Turnover Ratio*0.3670.465 Total Expense Ratio*0.7890.750 Adjusted Total Expense Ratio**0.9830.897 Economic Total Expense Ratio**1.1931.060 Crop Machinery Expense Ratio0.0910.092 Crop Fertilizer Expense Ratio0.1370.134 Crop Fuel Expense Ratio**0.0640.044 Crop Herbicide Expense Ratio**0.0460.075 **, * indicates the means are statistically different at 1% and 5% levels, respectively.

13. No-till Experience* Farm Size (total crop acres)-0.175 Operating Profit Margin-0.179 Asset Turnover Ratio-0.137 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

14.  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