High interest rates, elevated input costs and falling commodity prices create barriers for farmers to adopt innovation, but some Illinois producers said you can still dream big with a small budget.
McLean County farmer Reid Thompson suggested the phrase “tight margins” is an understatement this year.
“We started looking at 2025 numbers and there is some margin in corn and zero to negative margin for soybeans depending on rent costs,” he said. “And that just covers operating costs and overhead, not debt service.”
Thompson said while the budget is almost nonexistent, he still looks for ways to innovate.
“Our thought process going into next year is that we’re not going to rule anything out, but any technology we add has to also accompany an efficiency savings,” he said. “Maybe we don’t reduce the cost-per-acre number in inputs, but we can be more efficient with our nitrogen and our timing.”
Thompson said there is always room for improvement, but with smaller margins, farmers must look at where they can spend a little bit of money and get a large return.
“Instead of a spend $1 and get $2 back, where can I spend $1 and get $10 back?” he asked. “That’s the mindset you have to go into this year with. You can’t stop (innovating) because once you stop, the gap to catch back up is going to cost you even more.”
Corn and soybean farmer Scott Harris has also continued to innovate despite tighter margins.
The Johnson County farmer told FarmWeek rain early in the growing season hindered yields this year, so Harris is thinking of ways to minimize that impact in the future.
“We ask ourselves is there something we can do to benefit the crop in a way that would produce more yield?” he said. “We need all the yield we can get when we’re dealing with prices as low as they are.”
The Harris family added technology to their planters this year and are considering the purchase of a spray drone.
“Anything that makes the planting or chemical applications faster we’re always interested in,” Harris said. “As long as we can find out for ourselves that it’s worth the money that we’re going to spend on it.”
Harris said while farmers often must rein in big dreams during tight margins, innovation is still possible if you manage your budget correctly.
“If you’re not trying to improve your innovation, bring something new to your operation, look into the future and be a bit more prepared, then you are falling behind,” Harris said.
A spray drone is one investment that has paid off in recent years for Marion County farmer Andy Headley, who raises corn, soybeans and cattle with his dad and brother.
“We saved a lot of money by applying our own fungicide rather than hiring a plane, and it’s easier to do it and more timely,” he said.
He said while they generally stick to what is “tried and true” when income is down, they don’t rule out new ideas.
“You just have to watch and make sure you’re going to get a decent return on your investment if you’re going to spend money during these times.”
That is a point that fifth-generation Ogle County farmer Ryan Reeverts considered a few weeks ago when he purchased his first piece of equipment; a 1981 International axial flow combine with 4,100 hours.
While that’s not the typical mental image of the term “innovation,” Reeverts said it was the next logical step for growth in his second year of cash renting ground on his own.
“It’s gotten to a point where I needed to justify that custom harvest payment versus trying to purchase my own machine to cover my own acres,” he said.
While he wanted to look for something newer with the capability to add GPS and in-cab yield monitors, he said he went in with a mindset that he can always upgrade when money allows.
“With these tighter margins it just gets to a position where we’ve got to hold off on those opportunities and look for new ways to adapt and overcome,” Reeverts said.
One way he has done that is by securing an Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“That’s going to provide us with the ability to innovate the way we rotationally graze our cattle on our pasture,” he said. “And that’s going to improve our harvest efficiency when it comes to running those cows on smaller tracts of land.”
Knowing that the ag economy is cyclical, Reeverts said he continues to think ahead.
“I think it’s important to always look for opportunities to innovate and change the mindset toward what we’re trying to accomplish on our operations,” he said.