I knew that I had the basis for the article I wanted to write in a slide set I put together for a meeting when the dairy industry began its downturn.  My frustration was that I put that slide set together for a meeting in November of 2015 for the 2016 growing season.  Now this article looks ahead to a continued down turn of all commodities coming into a 2019 growing season.  Likely by now you have looked at how to maximize your profit or minimize your losses any number of ways but if you will allow me here is my list of biggest bang for the buck ideas coming into the 2019 cropping season.

"Do what you can get done."

I have, likely you have, heard this put in a dozen different ways but one of the best things you can do is have a plan in place to that looks at a core set of acres that you know you can get planted and or harvested.  Without a doubt the weather the last two growing seasons might make you question how much that plan is worth especially 2018, whereas this is being written there is still corn and soybeans in the field and manure looking to be spread.

A crop plan for your 2019 acres for will allow you to see how to allocate your crop resources, scant though they maybe.  Every dollar needs to count and although you may not get it perfect by having a plan getting the crop in and off as timely as you can, is one of the biggest hurtles you face.  Just being ready doesn't usually cost much and if equipment repair to get going is an issue then better to spend resources here because you can't harvest what you don't plant and you can't make money on forage crops that aren't harvested timely to provide quality.
So know what you can get done and do it. Only plant and harvest what you can do so successfully. It is always risk to put dollars in the field so minimize that risk as much as you can.

Is your free land costing too much?

Over time you have likely heard me use the expression of the "free Land" people describe to me that turns out at the end of the day to cost more than no rent or low rent is worth.  Most free land isn't free at all it will cost you.  Although a generalization in many instances this land is low pH, low fertility and somewhat poorly to poorly drained and you don't necessarily have any kind of lease that allows you a little more trust you can put some long term resources in to it to make it productive for your use.
No one wants to give up land in particular if you need a place to spread manure or you want to hold on to it as a buffer against neighbors and neighboring farms.   But if you think it isn't costing you take the time to think it through and make sure.

Weed control is dollars well spent.

I have too often seen corn, and soybean, growers look to save a few cents or even a few dollars an acre to move to herbicides that are less expensive only to not get the weed control they were before.   If there was ever a "if it is not broke, don't fix it" moment this is it.  Likely you didn't realize what weeds you were controlling and now with different herbicides some of those slight differences in spectrum of control show up. And if you were trying to just get by on fertilizer dollars what little you save might be quickly eaten up by weed competition.

I need to be careful in stating this because more than ever we need to look at weed control programs and make sure we are not setting farms up for herbicide resistant weeds or even just making sure we don't allow tough to control weeds to get a start.   But of all the places to try to be cheap, weed control isn't one of them.

Follow nutrient management plan

If you have a comprehensive nutrient management plan now is the time to make the best use of it.  Being accurate with manure application rates and applying manure evenly across a field shouldn't be viewed as just a regulatory requirement it is the difference in between profitability or not.  Even if you aren't required to have a plan work with your crop consultant to develop one anyway. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what nutrients are needed to grow your crops and what value your manure and the previous crop have to meet those nutrient requirements.  Now is the time to have a soil test to account for nutrients in the soil so you are not under or over applying nutrients. In particular, this is maybe the time to stop "traditional" yearly P and K topdressing of hay fields when manure may be supplying sufficient nutrients already.

Now may not be the time to lime because the amount needed won't give an immediate payback in this crop year.  At a high lime requirement, you may need the better part of a year to see the pH change sufficiently to see the return on your dollar spent. 

Do you  have enough N?

Nitrogen is needed for grass growth so whether the crop is corn or grass hay so make sure you have enough N.  Sufficient nitrogen and weed control are a must for a good corn crop so look for other places to reduce input dollars.  The more accurately you account for all sources of nitrogen available to your crop the less risk there is in over or under applying N.

Not the time for products of questionable value

Turning to an online dictionary, in this case Urban Dictionary, where foo foo dust is defined as: "A reference to a (non-existent) power or mysterious ingredient or hidden effort that creates desirable results. Results achieved, as if by magic, perhaps by slight-of-hand."  Call these products what you want they often promise to give you more yield and profit and do so applying less nutrients or by enhancing plant growth.  Now is a time to stick to with what has a proven track record and is scientifically sound.

Reseed or make current hay stands better

There are good reasons to put in a new seeding.  Maybe you have a conservation plan to keep up with; maybe you have hay ground that is less productive so you want that yield kick and nitrogen benefit you get by rotating corn to an old sod and keep the hay acres you need by reseeding.

Keep all of that in mind because a new seeding can be a large out lay of dollars and it can be risky because in many instances you aren't getting your money back the seeding year and seedings have been known to fail for various reasons.  If you still have good grass stands use nitrogen and manure to keep those fields productive and remove the seeding risk for the time being.

Be deliberate

Setting priorities as to what inputs will make you the most of your crop dollar is the place to start.  For corn weedcontrol and nitrogen are the two big items you just can't have a profitable crop without.