AgProfit™: a net present value and cash flow based decision aid for agriculture producers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present AgProfit™ as a tool for users to assess economic risks associated with adoption of new technologies or production practices in production agriculture. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents the AgProfit™ software program, its approach to capital investment analysis and demonstrates the program use by developing a scenario for analysis and discusses the process and results of the analysis. Findings – AgProfit™ was developed to assist growers in understanding the risks associated with technology adoption. The example presented in this paper demonstrates the value of the software program as a decision-making tool on the complex question of how many acres are required for an economically beneficial adoption of a new technology. Thus, with this software program, a grower can base investment decisions on the net present value and internal rates of return on an investment rather than a sales pitch or “gut” feeling. Originality/value – AgProfit™ is a recently developed software program that fills a void in available decision tools, providing users with the ability to assess the profitability and feasibility of production investment decisions.