GrainStrategy

Sandhill Grain Co

Alma Hemmelgarn · Washington County, KS · Danae Kruse · client since 2016

68k bu at 66% priced · 242 head at 65% sold
$837.3K under management
Self directedCosts are estimatesLast spoke in 32 days6 other findings(785) 555-7381
3 of 3 break-evens did not come from this family's books. The plans built on them are sound and the numbers under them are what somebody remembered, so the confidence in every margin on the other tabs is capped by that. Worth saying out loud to Alma Hemmelgarn rather than leaving implied.
From their books
0%
The rest were stated on a call or estimated from county averages.
Oldest
7 mo
The desk treats anything past 6 months as not trusted.
Desk cushion
$0.10
A break-even is an estimate, so pricing exactly at one is pricing at the midpoint of an error bar.
On Farmer Metrics
No
Costs have to be collected by phone every season.

Cost of production, by crop

CropBreak-evenSourceAs ofExpectedCost of the cropCash bid over costTrusted
Soybeans
new crop · 374 acres at 45 bu
$9.54Stated on a callAug 9, 202617k bu$160,558
$429/acre
+$1.02
bid $10.56
With a caveat
Soybeans
old crop · 347 acres at 47 bu
$9.22Stated on a callMay 9, 2026
3 months old
16k bu$150,369
$433/acre
+$1.30
bid $10.52
With a caveat
Corn
new crop · 238 acres at 147 bu
$4.31County estimateJul 9, 2026
1 month old
35k bu$150,790
$634/acre
-$0.01
bid $4.30
With a caveat

The desk treats a break-even older than 6 months as not trusted, because six months spans a planting-to-harvest change in fertilizer, fuel and cash rent. A February break-even used to justify an August sale is a different farm's numbers.

Cost per acre is the cost of the crop divided by planted acres, so it moves with yield as well as with cost. A good year lowers the cost per bushel without a single input getting cheaper, which is the part clients find hardest to believe and the reason the plan is written in dollars per bushel.