With skyrocketing land prices, high interest rates and low commodity prices, what will you do to help your farm stay afloat in 2025?

Farmers may wish they had a crystal ball when it comes to the future of the ag economy, but alas, many can only speculate on what the future holds. Chatter about decreasing crop prices, increasing inflation costs and a decline in farm income are common everywhere from coffee shops to ag businesses.

But where does this leave farms that are trying to stay profitable in 2025 and beyond?

Planning ahead, adding value and diversifying farm incomes are key to success, farm experts say. As harvest 2024 closes, now is the time to start preparing for 2025. Input costs remain volatile, but taking advantage of offseason pricing opportunities could make a difference to the upcoming season’s bottom line.

Although paying attention to increasing volume and revenue streams is key, don’t forget to focus on the cost side of your farm business. Consistently lowering production costs can make a big difference over time. These reductions don’t come from a single change, but rather, small changes that compounded make a big difference to your farm’s bottom line.

Protect working capital, hold onto your cash, and consider restructuring debt, emphasizing better execution of operation procedures and increasing asset utilization to see these cost savings add up.

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Justin Aeder, ag management risk adviser with Advance Trading Inc., says in a recent Farm Futures article that seed technologies shouldn’t be forgotten about to get ahead during difficult times.

“Technology helps U.S. farmers in countless ways,” Aeder explains, “the least of which is seed technology designed to produce better yields, which help offset the lower prices we’re seeing today.”

Try something new

Incorporating different varieties or even entirely new crops might be a way to get ahead. Some farmers in the Midwest are swapping their traditional soybean fields for specialty crops such as canola. David Swenson, who farms between Caledonia, N.D., and Shelly, Minn., says 2024 was the first year he swapped soybeans for canola.

“We had some soybean fields we couldn’t get over that 30-35 bushel beans [per acre], and for whatever reason, we’ve been struggling,” he explains. “We thought about what else we could do to get a little bit more of an income there.”

Higher profit margins combined with difficult ground were the drivers of his decision to plant canola. “Our agronomist threw out the ideas,” he says. “He had some Minnesota growers that had good luck with canola, and we had never really thought about that but decided to give it a try this year.”

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When traditional crops such as soybeans start to become unprofitable, growers can look outside the box to try an alternative. With new genetics adaptability and seed technologies, canola is only one option farmers are trying.

Crop marketability should be a top factor in the decision to try alternative crops. Farmers in the Red River Valley can manage canola like their other crops — preselling, pricing and selling canola just like traditional options.

Diversify to maintain profitability

Adding additional revenue streams to the farm can only help bolster profit in a time of downturn.

Some choose to directly market their beef to consumers, while others add livestock into their row crop operation. For instance, the addition of a hog barn can be a profitable and easy way to diversify farm income.

“Pigs are a great way to add jobs for a future generation and to diversify farm income while adding valuable manure nutrients to your soil health program,” explains Amber Wood, executive director of the North Dakota Livestock Alliance. “Pigs give North Dakota grain producers another risk-management tool. There are years the crops might carry the farm, and there are years that the pigs might carry the farm.”

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Wood helps farmers incorporate livestock on their farms by determining what species will fit best into their operation.

Diversification is vital to weather the intense ups and downs of markets, and beginning producers especially can benefit from integrator systems that are common in pig production.

“You’re able to bring in experts — including veterinarians, nutritionists and feed and pig marketers — to teach you how to raise and finish these animals,” Wood explains. Farmers can start a new hog facility on as few as 20 acres, meaning they don’t need to convert much of their land to diversify with pigs.

Add low-input animals

If building new barns and facilities isn’t the right fit, cattle producers could consider adding bison into their operation.

Kevin Leier, owner of Heartland Bison near Rugby, N.D., says that bison are a low-input option for producers.

“I call it the bison advantage,” he explains. “What it really comes down to is your production model, as there are minimal inputs with the animal themselves.”

The bison’s natural immunity limits the time needed to work animals.

“We work them in the chutes maybe once a year to do vet checks and de-worming,” Leier says. “It’s unique because once you get the infrastructure set up on your ranch, it’s pretty simple to check up on them.”

The bison industry has been solid over the past decade as a small and niche market for producers. “It’s a small group in terms of a protein source market that isn’t competing with capital markets such as the cattle industry,” he says. “We’re technically a business, not a commodity, because we are so small. The cattle industry will harvest more cattle in one day than we will in an entire year.”

For Heartland Bison, processed protein is directly marketed to different grocery stores and restaurant chains.

Boost farm value

The producer’s share of the food dollar has seen a steady decline since 1900, according to the American Farm Bureau. Some producers are increasing their share of the dollar by directly marketing to consumers, turning farm products into food products and joining cooperatives that can process farm products on a larger scale.

Jena Ochsner, a fifth-generation farmer near Sutton, Neb., says her family diversified to stay afloat during the 1980s by starting a crop insurance business outside the farm.

“We never wanted to be in the situation where we had to diversify, or had to do it because we couldn’t keep the farm afloat,” Ocshner says. “We did it at our own pace.”

The family farm had been finishing beef for family and friends but discovered the increase in profits available by selling individual counts by the pound.

“We started doing the math,” she says. “That’s how the idea for our Double O Farms beef business was born.”

As farmers work to weather the economic downturn, many are looking outside the box to diversify, add value and stay profitable in 2025.