Agricultural Economics Department
Date of this Version
7-16-2008
Abstract
As we gather and create averages of farm data each year, I’m often asked if the average is a good measure for budgeting. After all no farm is truly “average.” I think by understanding the averages and having some knowledge of your own costs, you can create a meaningful budget for any farm. So what do you need to know about the averages? It is helpful to know the range for the field, the median or middle number, as well as some of the assumptions that are made when gathering the information. A copy of a sample budget at the end of this article will help you lay out a per acre budget for Irrigated Corn on Cash Rented land. The “NFBI Average” column is the most recent data (2007) collected from a sample of farms across Nebraska. There is also a column to enter your data next to the average.
Comments
Published in Cornhusker Economics, 7-16-08. Produced by the Cooperative Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. http://www.agecon.unl.edu/Cornhuskereconomics.html