Virtual Agricultural Economics and Precision Agricultural Advancement Workshop

SDSU Extension will host a virtual workshop covering agricultural economics and precision agricultural advancement on February 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Participants will leave with an improved ability to estimate breakeven prices and profit targets for the 2026 crop season, a clearer understanding of crop insurance options aligned with their risk preferences, and stronger insight into current farmland values, cash rental rates, market trends, and crop production costs. 

The workshop will also demonstrate how to turn farm data—such as yield maps and soil tests—into practical decisions for seeding and fertilizer management, and will examine how precision agriculture tools affect yields, input costs, and return on investment using real-world farm data.

Agenda

Agricultural Economics

• Session 1 - Grain Marketing Strategies: Matt Diersen, Griffith Endowed Professor and SDSU Extension Risk and Business Management Specialist (30 minutes)
  This session will cover commodity marketing tools, benchmarking, and positioning around major reports
• Session 2 - Updates on Crop Insurance in OBBB and Its Impacts on Crop Producers: Jared Schnabel from FCSA (30 minutes)
  Crop protection insurance and risk management plans will be covered in this session
• Session 3 - South Dakota Agricultural Land Values, Rental Rates, and Market Trends: Hoanh Le, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Economics Research Specialist (30 minutes)
  This session will cover land values, cash rental rates and historical and current land market trends.
• Session 4 - Crop Production Costs: Sarah Sellars, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Sustainable Farm & Food Systems Specialist (30 minutes)
  Cost of seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, machinery and repairs will be covered in this session. 

Precision Agriculture Advancement

Ali Nafchi, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Precision Agriculture Specialist, will cover the following topics:

• Session 1: Introduction to Precision Agriculture 
  This session will address the key goals of precision agriculture: efficiency, sustainability, profitability.
• Session 2: Technologies and Tools 
  This session will talk about sing drones for imaging, scouting, mapping, variable rate technology (VRT).
• Session 3: Integration & Data Management
  The role of AI and machine learning, data collection, storage, and decision-making will be discussed in this session
• Session 4: Practical Applications
  Real-world farm examples, ROI and yield impact from using tech, operational challenges and farmer experiences will be addressed in this session.

Registration

The cost to attend this workshop is $25 for this in person option (February 24) or $10 for the virtual option (February 26). The same content will be covered at each session. Lunch will be provided for the in person workshop. Please use the form below to register, by selecting your preferred participation option. 

If the embedded registration form is not displaying on this page, visit Eventbrite to register.