One of the most difficult decisions to make on the farm is whether or not to build a space for equipment and machinery storage and what type of space to build.

It’s pretty common for clients to consider buying equipment at year's end in order to write it off for tax purposes. Bottom line: We need to think about depreciation timing for when the tax deduction will help the most.

When looking to buy new equipment or build new buildings, one of the key considerations is the cost of ownership or their fixed costs. The largest of the fixed costs is depreciation.

Every farm manager must make decisions about equipment. When to buy, when to sell and when to hire out the work are common questions. All of these decisions start from the same place: understanding your costs.

Keeping and feeding cows through the winter is likely one of the largest reoccurring investments you’ll make in your cow-calf operation. A lot goes into the final calculation, but the return value from tracking winter cow costs is well worth it.

Robotic dairy systems have been available to the public for nearly three decades. In that time, numerous manufacturers have entered the industry, providing consumers with a variety of robotic solutions for milking, feeding and even manure management.

Proactively strategize with your dairy’s key stakeholders to maximize cattle marketability in case the time comes to sell the cows.

The verdict is in – an open cow is among the top three financial liabilities for cow-calf operators. Calf sales are the largest contributor to annual income; cows that fail to wean a calf are a financial burden borne by the productive cows.

It’s time to talk more about controlling replacement costs from the perspective of the cow-calf enterprise.

When lecturing to the beef production capstone course in the division of animal sciences at the University of Missouri, I like to ask uncomfortable questions.