Central ND News

The North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension has released its crop budget projections for 2025, providing essential financial insights for the state's farmers. According to Ron Haugen, NDSU Extension farm management specialist, these budgets serve as guides across large multicounty regions.

Haugen emphasizes that "returns and costs can vary considerably between producers within a region." He notes that the budgets estimate returns to labor and management without considering price and yield variability or risk. Therefore, a perfect comparison of crops is not possible due to differing levels of labor, management, and risk.

For 2025, soil fertility levels in North Dakota are reportedly lower than average. Haugen attributes this to last year's heavy rains and good crop yields. While fertilizer prices remain flat or slightly down, the application rate will increase due to lower fertility levels. Consequently, overall fertilizer costs are expected to be somewhat higher than in 2024.

"This year in most regions and for most crops the projected profitability is low or negative," Haugen states. The rise in total costs combined with lower commodity prices significantly affects profitability. Chemical expenses remain stable while fuel costs, interest rates, and crop insurance premiums have decreased. However, ownership costs and repairs have increased. Some specialty crops might show positive returns but typically involve limited contracts and acreages along with higher risks.

These budgets are designed as guidelines rather than definitive solutions. Farmers are encouraged to create personalized budgets based on their specific circumstances.

The NDSU Extension's detailed budget information is accessible online at ndsu.ag/cropbudgets or by searching for NDSU Crop Budgets. Available resources include a PDF version and Excel spreadsheets for producers to input their estimates.