Farm Income Report

Farm Income Report

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett
Net farm income, a measure of profits, is expected to drop 12% year-over-year in 2018.

That news comes amid low crop prices and rising expenses according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

USDA Economist Rob Johansson says the drop will be a little less than they had projected earlier in the year. He says that's because of the level of direct government payments to farmers has gone up.

He says the direct government payments are mostly due to additional disaster relief money and the addition of the Market Facilitation Payments to compensate producers who are on the receiving end of the trade battles with China.

Farm debt compared to assets are up for the sixth year in a row. The USDA says that measurement is up by about a half percent but Johansson says that increase does show a growing financial pressure on producers around the US.

Agalert.com reports that overall Chapter 12 farmer bankruptcies were down in 2018 compared to the year before but, the rocky mountain region was one of three (the midwest and northeast being the others) where bankruptcy filings were up.

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