2027 Wheat Projected Cost of Production
DOWNLOADSeptember 10, 2026 - Jonathan LaPorte and Dennis Pennington
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EmailThe 2027 Projected Cost of Production for Wheat tool is intended to serve as a starting point for discussions on both expected income and expenses for individual farms.
There are three versions of the cost of production tools:
- The base version provides an estimate for farms seeking to minimize costs without sacrificing yield. It uses a yield goal of 90 bushels per acre with aligning soil fertility and chemical plans.
- The build-Up version starts out using the same information as the base projections. The fertility plans are updated to include recommended additional fertilizer inputs to build up soil nutrient levels based on example soil test results.
- The push production version provides an estimate for farms seeking to push maximum yield output. It uses a yield goal of 120 bushels per acre with aligning soil fertility and chemical plans.
Income values are derived from price projections from composite grain buyers across Michigan and yield data for Michigan from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Expenses are based on the latest Illinois production costs report from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), compositive prices from Michigan retailers, five-year average benchmark data from the FINBIN database (finbin.umn.edu), and current price trends.
The example expenses are based on recommendations from various resources at Michigan State University. Resources include:
- MSU Weed Control Guide
- Tri-State Fertility Recommendations & supplemental data from msu.edu
- Crop Protection Network
Note: products used in the examples are for illustrative purposes only and not considered an endorsement by Michigan State University.
At the time of publishing, the base budget estimates a break-even price of $11.78 per bushel or a break-even yield of 50.24 bushels per acre. The push production budget estimates a break-even price of $9.66 per bushel or a break-even yield of 61.83 bushels per acre.
Individual farm values and break-even values will differ based on production practices, timing of purchases, and/or value of wheat at time of sale. Both versions of the tool can be edited by individual farms to create budgets for their own operations.
