Risk and Profit Conference

2024 Breakout Sessions

1. Why Do We Have a Farm Safety Net?

Jenny Ifft

he US farm safety net consists of: 1) the Federal Crop Insurance program; 2) Commodity/Title 1 programs (ARC/PLC); and 3) Standing and ad hoc disaster programs. What are the economic and social justifications for our current farm safety net? Is the farm safety net too big or not big enough?  Is reform desirable or even possible?  This will be a slide-free, open-ended, and unrecorded discussion of the "what, where, why, when, and how" of our current farm safety net. 

2. Macroeconomic Outlook

Brian Briggeman

O

3. Kansas Farm Income and Conservation Practices

Jenny Ifft, Delide Joseph

O

4. A Projection of Net Farm Income for 2024 and 2025

Gregg Ibendahl

This session will discuss the projected net farm income for 2024 as well as the prospects for 2025. Included in the discussion will be an estimate for corn and soybean yields for the state.

5. Kansas Water Management Challenges and U.S. Federal Crop Insurance Program

Jenny Ifft, Sam Zipper

O

6. Farming Together: A Transition Planning Discussion

Ashlee Westerhold, David Kehler

After working with six families through a financial analysis during their succession planning process, we will discuss how families are supporting both families in a transition process or why they are not able to support two families in this process. We will discuss some dos and don’ts when it comes to working with family members, how to handle the financial side of the business when in the transition process, and what some findings are from our analyses.

7. Effects of Production Diversification on Net Farm Income: Evidence from Kansas

Priyanka Sharma, Aleksan Shanoyan

O

8. Long-Term Strategic Risk on Your Farm

Brady Brewer

O

9. 2024 Farm Income Tax Update

Kellen Liebsch

Updates to federal and state income tax for 2024, including depreciation. A brief look will also be included on retirement plan contributions, tax credits, and other items pertaining to the potential expiration/extension/reform of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

10. The Economics Of Equipment Purchasing: What You Should Consider Before Buying New Equipment

Brady Brewer

O

11. U.S. Feedlot Adoption of Enteric Methane Emission Mitigating Technology

Jaime Luke, Glynn Tonsor

U.S. beef producers have been experiencing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from production. Technologies have been developed to do so, but limited economic incentives exist to spur adoption. This session will discuss the incentives needed for feedlot adoption of methane-mitigating feed additives as determined by data collected from U.S. feedlot owners and operators.

12. Meat Demand: Insights from the Mead Demand Monitor

Glynn Tonsor

In this session, Dr. Tonsor will overview the beef and pork checkoff-supported Meat Demand Monitor (MDM) project.  A focus on recent trends and insights will be provided along with an illustration of how to use the available data visualization tools.

13. Pricing Hay Based on Quality

Bryston Warren, Joe Parcell, Ted Schroeder, Jenny Ifft

O

14. Beef Quality Enhancements: Exploring the Market Dynamics and Economic Implications

Katy Doumit, Ted Schroeder

O

15. Space Weather Impact on GPS: What Happened on May 10 and How Will It Affect Farm Profitability

Terry Griffin

O

16. Impact of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine on Grain and Oilseed Production and International Trade

Antonina Broyaka

O

17. TBD

Allen Featherstone

O

18. Impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Farm Profitability and Survival

Jiyeon Kim, Jisang Yu

U.S. agriculture has been experiencing increases in its exports to foreign markets in the last three decades due to global trade liberalization. Specifically, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) boosted agricultural trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by eliminating barriers to trade. Better accessibility to the global market may lead to gain or lose for U.S. agricultural producers. In this presentation, we discuss how trade exposures influence the survival of farms by affecting profitability, focusing on the case of NAFTA. We find that trade exposure positively impacts farm profit in the short term after implementing NAFTA. In addition, we find that greater export exposure leads to a decrease in the rate of farm exit.

19. Situation and Outlook for Energy and Biofuels

Gregg Ibendahl, Daniel O'Brien

In this session, we discuss current oil, diesel, ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel energy use and the prospects for growth in the biofuels usage.

20. The Performance of the Food Manufacturing Industry in Kansas

Abena Damuah, Vincent Amanor-Boadu

I

21. Uncertainty, Risk, and Strategic Alliances

Ed Perry, Amanda Tian

I 

22. Population Growth and Food: Resurrecting Reverend Malthus in the 21st Century and Its Implications For Farmers And Ranchers

Vincent Amanor-Boadu

Incomes have been increasing around the world for the past 50 years or more. At the same time there has been significant improvements in the dietary intake of the majority of the world's populations. These two factors have contributed to aggressive forecast of global populations from many reputable institutions. These forecasts have led to policy conversations that promise to alter the pathway of economic growth and stability around the world. Yet, historical indicators of increasing incomes suggest alternative potential outcomes for population growth forecasts. However, the appeal of these doomsday predictions and prophetism is intoxicating for many policymakers and their risk of becoming policy is frightening.

In this paper, we identify some of the erroneous assumptions supporting these population and resource forecasts and challenge the policy recommendations emanating from them. We frame our analysis within the context of the agri-food sector, emphasizing food production and strategies that U.S. farmers and ranchers may pursue to ensure their ability to sustain their long term competitiveness.