News

The director of the new Office for Farm and Ranch Transition at K-State, Ashlee Westerhold, talks about the three-fold mission of that office in assisting farm and ranch families in succession planning, and in the case of producers with no heirs to take the operation over, helping them make connections with prospective young farmers willing to take it on. 

K-State risk management economist Jenny Ifft continues her series on price risk management for cow-calf operations, looking more closely at implementing Livestock Risk Protection insurance, and some of the unique aspects of enrolling in that coverage.

K-State farm management economist Gregg Ibendahl walks through his new analysis of the fertilizer market impacts from the Russia/Ukraine conflict:  he breaks it down by the primary crop fertilizer nutrients and how this situation has influenced prices, and offers his outlook on fertilizer prices moving into the growing season.

K-State risk management specialist Jenny Ifft talks about finalizing crop insurance decisions for spring-planted crops, with the enrollment deadline coming up in just over a week...she talks about how the just-released RMA price numbers for February will influence the revenue insurance guarantee.

K-State agricultural economists Nathan Hendricks and Gabe Sampson report on their new analysis of the value of groundwater in the High Plains Aquifer region...they used land transaction data and cropland rental rate trends to determine the economic importance of those groundwater resources to Kansas agriculture...they also looked at the impact of changes in the aquifer's water level on farmland values in the region.

K-State agricultural economist Robin Reid announces that the new Kansas Land Values Book from K-State is now out:  based on actual land sales data, this annual report is a thorough portrayal of Kansas farm and ranch land value trends at the county, region and state levels...she goes over the land sales volumes and average prices paid for agricultural ground in 2021.

Risk management specialist Jenny Ifft and crop nutrient specialist Dorivar Ruiz-Diaz of K-State talk about new crop insurance add-on coverage of post-planting nitrogen applications to dryland corn, which will be available on a pilot basis in 10 northeast Kansas counties this year...they explain why this insurance option has been developed, saying it may be the first of several "targeted" crop insurance endorsements for specific production practices. 

K-State farm management economist Gregg Ibendahl shares his just-posted fertilizer price outlook, using current trends in corn and oil prices as the foundation for his analysis...he thinks that the price of fertilizer might level off midway through the year, but that a rapid retreat in that price isn't likely, especially given what's happening with inflation in the economy.