Idaho Ag sets records
Idaho is projected to have set a massive all-time record for total farm revenue in 2022. However, the state is also projected to have set a massive all-time record for total farm expenses last year.
When it comes to total farm cash receipts – this is the revenue that farmers and ranchers receive for their commodities – “We blew the socks off of almost every ag category in the state last year,” University of Idaho Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor told Idaho lawmakers Jan. 5.
Taylor shared with legislators the highlights of the university’s “The Financial Condition of Idaho Agriculture: 2022” report.
The report estimates that Idaho farmers and ranchers brought in $11 billion in total farm cash receipts in 2022. That was 26 percent higher than the previous record of $8.8 billion set in 2014 and 29 percent higher than the 2021 total of $8.6 billion.
However, Idaho also set a record for total farm production expenses in 2022, in virtually every category of expense.
According to the university’s annual Financial Condition of Idaho Agriculture report, farm and ranch expenses in Idaho totaled $8.9 billion in 2022, 20 percent higher than the 2021 total of $7.5 billion, which was a record at the time.
Put simply, Idaho farmers and ranchers had $1.4 billion in additional production expenses last year.
The cost of manufactured inputs, which include fertilizer, chemicals and fuel, were up an estimated 40 percent compared with 2021, while farm-origin inputs, which include feed, seed and replacement livestock purchases, were up 13 percent, according to the report.
The report projects a 17 percent increase in payments to stakeholders, a category that includes net rents and interest expense.
All other farm production costs, including property taxes and fees, labor and capital consumption, rose by 2-11 percent compared with 2021.
According to the report, Idaho producers spent $1.8 billion on feed last year, $1 billion on fertilizer, $417 million on pesticides, $393 million for fuel, $975 million for hired labor and $567 million on interest expenses.
