CropChoice$, the crop planning and risk management software program, has been updated with current crop insurance information from Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) along with projected crop costs.
“Producers can also adjust individual crop costs and evaluate the effects that different risk management strategies will have on their operation — such as purchasing crop insurance and renegotiating land rental agreements,” explains Manglai, production crops economist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
Cropping plan probability
The program also provides probabilities for achieving margins for various cropping plans and scenarios. Manglai says that typically with traditional budgets, a single estimate of yield and price is used which only gives a simple average.
“However, CropChoice$ recognizes that future crop yields and prices cannot be precisely known. Based on that, it takes the revenue calculation one step further to include your own price and yield expectations. It does so by allowing you to enter high, low and most likely price and yield values.”
The program then calculates the likelihood of achieving every possible profit outcome based on those price and yield expectations.
Value for producers
Manglai explains the program’s value for producers. “It narrows down cropping options to find the mix of crops that gives the highest possible profitability while maintaining agronomic stability and taking into account personal risk preferences.”
He says that a bonus of creating a primary crop plan is that it helps producers figure out their second best option. “Once you are in the field, you don’t have time to evaluate last minute options. The wrong option can be costly.”
“You can also use CropChoice$ scenarios to evaluate your crop insurance options,” he adds. “The software includes AFSC’s current offerings for risk coverage levels, insurance premiums and spring price endorsement. Use the software to evaluate your crop plans with different crop insurance scenarios before the April 30 deadline.”
What to grow
“The program has up to 40 dry land and irrigated crops depending on location. Each scenario handles up to 32 fields and producer can run up to eight scenarios that directly compare and contrast the risks and returns of each crop plan. A producer can then choose a crop plan that works for their operation based on their results.”
Download a free copy of CropChoice$.
Source: Government of Alberta
