Farm/Enterprise Budgets
Back to Basics: Hedging and Basis in Grain Marketing
Basis in grain marketing refers to the difference between cash and futures prices. Having a solid understanding of it and its seasonal patterns is crucial to any successful marketing plan. Learn...
Beekeeping Equipment Expenses: Woodenware and Other Components
Woodenware for a typical honey bee colony includes vertically stackable boxes with removable frames, a bottom board, lid and a queen excluder. The most common design is Langstroth equipment.
Break-even Analysis of Small-Scale Production of Pastured Organic Poultry
Data from five years of trials at Washington State University were used to compare costs and returns for pastured organic broilers using two strains of Cornish Cross meat birds, the industry...
Business Management Guide for Grazers
Describes the management process for management-intensive grazing (MiG) as a series of three recurring operations: strategic, tactical and operational. Provides sample enterprise budgets and...
Changing Idaho Feed Crop Supply and Demand—Implications
The number of animals in concentrated animal feeding operations has increased since the early 1990s. The upsurge has influenced the supply and demand for crops used as feed, like alfalfa hay,...
How do growers know what to grow or what will be profitable for their operation? This publication provides benchmark estimates for farm-level costs and returns for the dryland crops typically...
Exploring Organic Grain and Forage Production as a Profitable Enterprise for Palouse Farmers
Demand for organic grain has outpaced actual U.S. grain production in recent years. Yet little is known about organic grain production in the Palouse, likely because it comprises a small portion of...
Farm-direct Marketing: Costs and Enterprise Selection
This revision covers how to do a general budget analysis for your farm-direct enterprise. Includes how to identify fixed and variable costs and do a breakeven analysis. Author: Larry Lev 6 pages
Getting the Most Feed Nutrient for the Dollar
This publication describes a process livestock producers should use to determine the value of a feed that will provide energy or protein to balance a forage-based ration. Authors: Glenn Shewmaker,...
Honey Bee Colony Maintenance Expenses: Supplemental Feed, Requeening and Medication
Success in pollination, honey production and other aspects of a beekeeping business depends on honey bee health. Strong, thriving colonies require many inputs from the beekeeper, including feed...
Idaho Environmental/Nutrient Management Program (E/NMP) Basics
Nutrient management is not a game. It verifies the health of your livestock operation and thus requires a documented plan (called an Environmental/Nutrient Management Program), assembled by a...
Idaho Spring Barley Production Guide
Barley is one of Idaho’s most important crops. Although its harvested acreage has decreased in the past twenty years, the state is still the nation’s top barley producer. Published in 2003, this...
Managing Price Risks Using Grain Contracts
Managing price risks in commodity markets is a complex task. Indeed, grain producers must think globally, which is always a challenge. Sharpen your marketing strategies by learning the basic...
Margin Protection Crop Insurance for Idaho Corn Growers
Margin protection is an area-based insurance plan that protects producers from a decline in operating margins due to high input costs, low county yield, low commodity prices or any combination.
Marketing Strategies for Idaho Wheat Producers: Identifying Top Performers
Grain markets have significantly changed over the past thirty years, but many wheat growers still rely solely on the elevator quote at harvest time. Discover a better approach in this study of the...
Operational Equipment Expenses for a Commercial Beekeeping Operation in the Pacific Northwest
When developing a business plan for a commercial beekeeping operation, a beekeeper must plan for honey production. Even if other income sources, such as pollination or nucleus/package/queen sales,...
Pasture Principles for Smaller Acreages
Ranchettes and small farms are cropping up in rural landscapes across Idaho, spurring demand for information on pasture management. This updated publication addresses the most common concerns...
Revenue Sources for a Commercial Beekeeping Operation in the Pacific Northwest
Pollination services and honey production are the primary revenue sources for a beekeeping business based in the Pacific Northwest. Those starting a beekeeping operation should focus on two to...
Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Guidelines for Dairy Risk Management: Part 1
Dairy farmers, particularly those who run small- and middle-sized enterprises, face significant economic challenges. Financial guidance is more critical than ever. This three-part series addresses...
Selling Logs from Your Property: A Curriculum Package for Educators in the Western U.S.
Selling logs is one of the most important decisions a landowner can face. This curriculum package for forestry educators brings together consulting foresters, log buyers and loggers to teach...
Southern Idaho Dryland Winter Wheat Production Guide
Wheat is an important crop throughout Idaho, especially in the dryland cropping areas of southern Idaho. However, the region's rolling landscape with high-wind and water-erosion potential plus low...
Markets for special forest products in Idaho (edible wild mushrooms, fresh floral greens, dried flowers, wild berries, seeds, roots, bark and other plant parts) have expanded considerably since...
Spring Annual Forage Hay Production in North-Central Idaho
Cattle producers in north-central Idaho need quality feed for their herds. But to satisfy that need, you need to do your homework. This publication helps growers and cattlemen understand how to use...
Straw Removal Calculator Guide
Straw removal has become a widespread practice in dryland wheat production in the inland Pacific Northwest. Although straw harvest may provide short-run economic benefits, it also can incur hidden...
The Economic Feasibility of Growing Wine Grapes in Idaho
Presents wine grape enterprise budgets for a typical Idaho vineyard and a current economic analysis of growing wine grapes in Idaho. The analysis indicates the typical vineyard would break even in...
The Financial Condition of Idaho Agriculture: 2022
This annual report details the financial health of Idaho agriculture, containing statistics on farm cash receipts, net farm income, government payments, the gross domestic product, and livestock...
Understanding Budgets and the Budgeting Process
Budgeting is crucial to a business' success. This publication helps you navigate this often intimidating task by discussing the four budget types most commonly used by agricultural producers (whole...