Farm Sector Income Is Forecast to Decline in 2009
Net farm income is forecast to be $57
billion in 2009, down $30 billion (34.5 percent) from
2008. The 2009 forecast is $6.5 billion below the average of $63.6 billion
in net farm income earned in the previous 10 years. Still, the net farm income
forecast for 2009 remains the eighth largest amount of income earned in
U.S. farming. The top five earnings years have been tightly grouped between
2003 and 2008, attesting to the profitability of farming this decade.
In 2009, crop prices have continued to decline and prices
for livestock animals and products have experienced sharp
declines. With economic conditions deteriorating worldwide, demand for
exports has tailed off, with few options available to expand marketing
elsewhere. Sharply declining demand in 2009 has forced farmers to accept
prices that are lower than were expected earlier in the year when production
plans were made.
On the input side, prices are also projected to be
lower than in 2008, particularly for most manufactured
inputs, feed, and services such as repairs or transportation.
Overall, the reduction in gross income will exceed the
reduction in production costs by $30 billion, leaving
all net measures of income and output below the record
or near-record levels established in 2008.
 d
Get the forecast
for farm sector income.
Average Farm Household Income Forecast Down
in 2009
In 2009, average family farm household income is forecast
to be $76,065, down 3.5 percent from 2008
and 6.8 percent below the 5-year average for 2004-08. In
2009, the average family farm is forecast to receive 8.7
percent of its household income from farm sources, with
the rest from earned and unearned off-farm income.
 d
Get the forecast
for farm household income.
See also
- Agricultural
Income and Finance Outlook for historical
estimates and forecasts of farm sector
financial information that allows readers
to gauge the financial health of the
Nation's farmers and ranchers
|
