2019 Net Farm

The new year. 2020. A time to look forward, a time to reflect on the past, and an opportunity to evaluate where we are headed. One thing we do know is that 2019 Net Farm Income topped 2018, with help from the Government.

Yes. 2019 nineteen U.S. net farm income ledger will show a rise from 2018 by $8.5 billion to a total of ninety two point five billion, about a 10 percent increase. But Agriculture Department chief economist Rob Johanson says that might be a little misleading. Actual cash taken in by farmers from sales fell below 2018 by over four and a half billion dollars or 1.2 percent. Now, farmers did get a little help from a 1.6 percent drop in production costs. But what took farm income over 2018 level was extra help from the government, such as the trade assistance payments or the official title. The market facilitation program additive roughly about 10 billion dollars to 2019 income. And then we also had the wildfire hurricane and indemnity program (WHIP) plus much higher crop insurance payments. Johansen says take all that away...and for 2019, you actually saw a decline in farm income by about 6 percent. USDA will not make a 2020 income projection until late February.