Expenditures Up On The Farm

Expenditures Up On The Farm

Expenditures Up On The Farm. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Washington farmers and ranchers participating in the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) reported a 23 percent increase in farm production expenditures in 2012 compared to 2011. The Ag Networks Lacy Gray has more on this.

GRAY: The survey was conducted from January to April 2013. The largest expenditure category in 2012 was labor, and increased 36 percent from 2011. Washington State has the highest minimum wage rate in the U.S. “The ARMS survey helps tell the story of how much expenditures increased for Washington farmers and ranchers, even though commodity prices were higher in 2012, expenditures affect the bottom line of profit or loss.” said Chris Mertz, Director of USDA’s NASS Northwest Regional Office.
Nationally, U.S. farmers spent a record high $351.8 billion on agricultural production in 2012, a 10.4 percent increase from 2011.

Thanks Lacy. California and Washington were the only two states in the west included as part of the estimate. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has conducted periodic surveys of farm production expenditures since 1956, and annually since 1971.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network. 

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