Balancing Yield Goals and Farm Input Costs

• Farmers aim to achieve the highest potential yield at the best cost to achieve maximum profitability.
• To help maximize profits, some farmers may consider cutting back on or completely cutting out some inputs altogether. These decisions should be calculated and thought through completely.
• It is important to plan ahead and set realistic yield goals based on calculated decisions to help maximize profit potential on your farm.

As a farmer, the goal is to optimize profitability through maximizing yield potential and controlling costs, but this is often easier said than done. This is particularly true when input costs are rising and the crop price is declining or expected to be lower at harvest.

Setting Yield Goals for Your Farm^1,2,3

Realistic yield goals can help the producer achieve the greatest difference between the value of the crop and the cost of producing the crop. Non-irrigated fields are more prone to year-to-year fluctuations in yield due to various factors, primarily early season soil moisture content, the water holding capacity of the soil and timely rainfall. Recognize that years with very high, or very low yields are the exception and not the rule. When calculating average yields over time, disregard the years when extremes in corn production were highly influenced by abnormal weather conditions. Corn yields produced with well managed irrigation tend to be more stable over years compared to non-irrigated conditions. Keep records for each field as an individual unit. Set your goals five to ten percent above your average yield of the past five to ten years. Use field mapping technology to aid in goal setting.

There are several approaches that can be used to aid in determining your yield goals:

• Historical production. This is a good tactic when a field has been used for several years, and yield history has been established, particularly when field maps are available for previous years.
• Soil productivity approach. This approach focuses on soil productivity potential, water holding capacity and other parameters. Web Soil Survey, a free online site from the United States Department of Agriculture, can be accessed at https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm.

Farm Input Considerations⁴

Inputs include labor, crop protection products like herbicide and fungicides, equipment, seed, and energy. Most farm inputs are purchased, making production costs susceptible to non-farm economic conditions. When input prices are low, farmers should attempt to maximize production to reduce the per unit cost of production, with the goal of covering variable costs and as much of the fixed costs as possible. Production inputs are usually known in advance and can allow farmers to purchase at reduced prices for expenses like land rent, fertilizer, and seed.

Several Land-Grant Universities have developed spreadsheets that can assist in developing crop budgets for several crops. For example, crop budgets for 2025 can be found from Iowa State University at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/html/a1-20.html, North Carolina State University at https://cals.ncsu.edu/are-extension/business-planning-and-operations/enterprise-budgets/, and South Dakota State University https://extension.sdstate.edu/crop-budgets.

To help maximize profit potential, some farmers may consider cutting back on or completely cutting out some inputs altogether. These decisions should be calculated, thought through completely, and based on past experiences, not emotion. For example, use caution when cutting back on inputs such as fertilizers. It is wise to ensure that soil fertility is properly maintained to provide good yield potential and plant health to support adequate stands while also helping to reduce erosion. Cutting back too much on fertilizer inputs not only lessens the opportunity to have good yield potential in the coming season, but also in future years. Weed management is becoming a larger driver for input costs as weed resistance to herbicides becomes more common. Developing a weed management plan and sticking to it for the entire farm may result in higher input costs, but it may also be in the best interest for long-term profitability. Crop rotation may also help reduce input costs by reducing some fertilizer and farm chemical costs as well as seed costs. Taking the time to set realistic yield goals based on calculated decisions and planning ahead can help result in maximum profitability and return on investment.

A nitrogen (N) calculator tool that was developed by several Midwest universities is available at https://www.cornnratecalc.org/ to assist in calculating the economic return to N applications based on the prices of various sources of N fertilizer and corn prices at the local elevator.

The following website hosted by the Crop Protection Network, https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/web-books/crop-scouting-basics-for-corn-and-soybean?section=chapter-1-scouting-corn-and-soybean-as-part-of-integrated-pest-management, provides integrated pest management (IPM) recommendations for insect, disease and weed scouting for corn and soybeans, as well as economic thresholds.

Sources

¹ Shober, A. and Taylor, R. 2015. Estimating yield goal for crops. University of Delaware Extension. https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/fact-sheets/estimating-yield-goal-crops/.
² Shapiro, C. 2008. Setting realistic yield goals. Cropwatch. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/setting-realistic-yield-goals/
³ Buettner, T. 2025. Choosing the right yield goal. Ward Laboratories. https://www.wardlab.com/choosing-the-right-yield-goal/.
⁴ 2015. It’s not just about costs per acre, even in tight times. Purdue University Extension. https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/home/resource/2015/04/its-not-just-about-costs-per-acre-even-in-tight-times/
Web sources verified 11/13/2025. 1214_74631