Ranch profitability is not the result of a single choice but the culmination of all management, marketing and production choices. Therefore, better individual choices such as controlling costs are likely to result in increased profitability or decreased loss. Some choices have a larger role in affecting profits and sustainability. The costs of brood cow replacements are basic to profitability in beef operations.
Corn and soybeans are the two most common crops grown in Nebraska. Some farmers in the western part of the state plant continuous corn with few that plant continuous soybeans. In most cases some type of corn/soybean rotation is practiced. Idealistically speaking crop rotations should be producer and site specific, matching physical geography, resource availability and management capability. This work focuses on the difference in profitability among four possible rotations.
