Thompson Elected House Ag Chair and Farm Capital Expenditures Up Sharply
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**Signaling another difficult year for drought-impacted farmers, the California Department of Water Resources has announced an initial water allocation of 5% of requested 2023 supplies from the State Water Project.
At this time last year, state officials predicted a 0% allocation and ultimately delivered 5% of requested supplies.
Farmers this year fallowed an estimated 750,000 acres of productive cropland due to water shortages.
**The House Republican Steering Committee elected Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) as Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture for the 118th Congress.
Thompson will be the first Chairman from Pennsylvania in nearly 170 years.
After Wednesday’s vote, Thompson said the political landscape in Washington may be fractured, but as Chairman, I will prioritize the needs of our producers and rural communities, the backbone of this country.
**In response to relatively stronger net farm incomes, U.S. farm sector capital expenditures have shot up dramatically in the past three years.
According to University of Illinois research, farm sector capital expenditures were approximately $30.1 billion in 2019, and forecast at $44.2 billion for 2022.
Capital expenditures include tractors, trucks, autos, machinery, buildings, land improvements, and other expenditures.
The data implies farmers have used a portion of their strong net farm incomes to replenish their capital stock.