Iowa farmers will likely face another challenging year of managing tight profit margins for corn and soybeans. With the continued struggle to eke out profit margins, managing costs has primarily focused on the big three fixed costs: land, machinery and equipment and family living.

“On average, most Iowa farms have seen a reasonable decline in total costs in all these categories,” said Steve Johnson, farm management specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “This is especially true with the reduction in average land costs, primarily from re-amortizing existing loans and renegotiating cash rental rates. Most farmers are simply fine-tuning their cost management strategies for 2018 that have been in place for several years.”

Iowa State...