Cost of Running Average-Sized Farm Operation in Wisconsin Went Up Last Year

Friday, August 5th, 2022 -- 11:00 AM

(Wisconsin Ag Connection) The cost of running an average-sized farm operation in Wisconsin went up last year compared to 2020.

According to the Wisconsin Ag Connection, new figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that total state farm production expenditures were estimated at $11.6 billion in 2021. That's eight percent more than a year earlier.

Feed costs represented the largest single production expense for Wisconsin farmers at $2.24 billion, which actually fell by two percent from the previous year thanks to a bountiful harvest season.

Farm services, the second largest expense, totaled $1.58 billion, about seven percent higher than the year prior. Ag economists say most of the areas on the expense column rose on the annual report.

Other increases were found in livestock, chemicals, fertilizer/lime, labor, fuel, farm supplies/repairs, farm construction, tractors, other farm machinery, seed, trucks, and miscellaneous expenses. However, rent and interest were lower for the year.

By the numbers, expenditures per Wisconsin farm averaged $181,591 in 2021, compared with $167,935 the previous year. The average operation spent $34,945 on feed, $24,649 on farm services, $15,445 on fertilizer, and $15,913 on labor.

Nationally, farm production expenditures totaled $392.9 billion in 2021, up seven percent. Expenditures per U.S. farm averaged $196,087, up 7.7 percent from $182,130 in 2020.

On average, American farms spent $32,540 on feed, $21,161 on livestock, poultry, and related expenses, $22,458 on farm services, and $18,366 on labor.

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