Farm income down 38% for US farmers
3/09/2009
Net farm income in the US is predicted to fall 38% to US$54 billion in 2009 according to the USDA’s recent Farm Income and Costs: 2009 Farm Sector Income Forecast report. This contrasts last year’s near record of US$87.2 billion. This year’s predicted significant drop in net farm income is predominantly the result of declining crop and livestock prices. Falls are expected across all three key measures of farm sector earnings and costs in the US – net cash income, net value added and net farm income. Net cash income is predicted to decrease by 30% on 2008 and be 4% below the 10 year average, while net value added will fall only slightly compared to the 10 year average due to less expenditure on purchased inputs helping to offset a decline in production value (USDA). Although the high feed costs that impacted on producers in 2008 have receded into 2009, this is outweighed by softening world economies, lower demand for premium meat cuts and the resultant declining revenues.
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