As the 2024/25 crop year progresses through fall harvest, attention is already turning to next spring’s planting with continued uncertainty surrounding input costs. Lower commodity prices and persistently high input costs have put farmers in a tough spot and garnered lots of attention. Iowa State University has published their estimated crop production budgets for a glimpse into the upcoming crop year.

Over the past decade, total production costs have seen a lot of fluctuation, but the general trend has been one of steady increases (Figure 1). Total production costs for both corn and soybeans...