Profit by the Bushel

Marketing, understanding production costs and making strategic input decisions are key to maximizing profit potential, says Lynn Sandlin. The ag economist and business intelligence lead for Syngenta offers these tips for planning for productivity:

• Take advantage of two massive opportunities.
  1. Do a really good job of marketing your crop and refocus your yield potential planning on cost-per-bushel productivity.
  2. Spend 10 cents more per bushel on something that'll produce 25 cents more per bushel.
• Clearly identify the factors under your control in each field that will enable the best yield. Look at the cost basis per bushel to prove you’ve made a good decision.
• Avoid substandard weed control products that initially reduce cost per bushel but actually raise your costs because they cap yield. Increased weed competition and plant stress cut yield and raise the cost per bushel.
• Think like a CEO and know your cost per bushel with every field. How much do you spend to grow that bushel? Have you reached maximum production efficiency and maximum profit potential per bushel?