Good Year To Be Farming
Monday, December 12th, 2011 -- 2:33 PM
It?s been a great year to be farming.The U.S. Agriculture Department?s Economic Research Service says net farm income is forecast at $100.9 billion for 2011, up $21.8 billion (28 percent) from 2010. If [url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/features/farmincome/]the forecast[/url] is realized, this will mean record or near-record sales and price levels for many crop and livestock categories and represent substantial increases over last year. Crop receipts are expected to rise more than 16 percent in 2011, reflecting large anticipated increases in prices, especially for hay, corn, wheat and cotton, according to ERS.
Livestock receipts are expected to rise nearly 17 percent, led by strong prices for dairy and red meats, the report states. However, total production expenses are forecast to jump about $34 billion (12 percent) in 2011 to nearly $320 billion, driven by higher input costs.
This would be a nominal record and would be the first time production expenses will exceed $300 billion.
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