Ag Economic outlook

Predictions and analysis of the farm economy from USDA Ag economist Seth Myer Net cash. Farm income is forecast to be at 158.8 billion in 2024. This is a 1.1% decline from 2023. Net farm income is forecast to decrease 4.1% from 2023 to 2024. So despite these expected declines in 2024, net cash, farm income and net farm income remain above the 20 year average when we adjust for inflation, the difference between the September versus the December releases show that our net farm income declined 6 billion for the December release, compared to 6.5 billion, so not as drastic a drop. The same is the case for cash receipts. Cash receipts are falling, projected to fall 25 billion instead of nearly 28 billion. And on the animal products side, the forecast is for income change to be 21 billion. Where in September we were forecasting nearly 18 billion. The farm sector liquidity is is expected to worsen marginally in 2024. Say if we look at the bankruptcy rate that's increased slightly to one per 10,000 farms, which is still a relatively low rate. If we look at the debt service ratio, which is describing the share production used to pay for debt expenses, that is also increased marginally, but still at a fairly manageable 0.25%.