Farm Sector Income is Forecast to Decline in 2009
Most crop prices are expected to be substantially lower
in 2008/09. Even with larger quantities of most grains
and oilseeds available to market, lower prices will pull
down receipts and production value from 2008's record level.
A substantial reduction in milk prices will signal the
same outcome for livestock commodities. Despite increases
for red meat and poultry receipts, overall livestock receipts
are projected down by nearly $11 billion in 2009.
On the input side, prices are also projected to be less
than in 2008, particularly for most manufactured inputs,
feed, and services such as repairs or transportation. Overall,
the reduction in gross income will be larger than the reduction
in costs, leaving all measures of income and output below
the record levels established in the past 2 years.
d
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for farm sector income.
Farm Operator Household Income in Perspective
Average farm operator household income is forecast to
be $85,140 in 2009, down from both the 2007
estimate and the 2008 preliminary estimate. In contrast,
average farm operator household income was an estimated
$86,223 in 2007, up 6.1 percent from 2006. Farm household
income is highly variable through the years, primarily
due to the volatility of farm income. The average farm
income for farm households has been declining since 2005
and, in 2008 and 2009, off-farm income is forecast to be
relatively flat. Nonetheless, for every year since 1996,
average income of farm households has exceeded average
U.S. household income, and that is expected for 2008 and
2009, as well. In 2007, the latest year for which there
is an estimate of U.S. household income, average farm household
income was 27.5 percent higher than U.S. average household
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
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