News

Farm income forecast is lower

The U.S. farm economy continues to slide.  The USDA is forecasting net cash farm income to drop by almost 12 percent this year to $91.5 billion.  That’s after increasing in 2017.

USDA Chief Economist Rob Johansson says another factor in declining general farm economic health is growing farm debt.  It’s projected to be up 3.5 percent to nearly $407 billion, the highest since 1982.

“We did see an increase in debt-to-asset ratios to 13.4 percent,” said Johansson, in an interview provided by the USDA.  “It has been rising and we do know that the cost to finance that debt is increasing as well, as a percentage of net farm income.”

Meanwhile, farm assets are projected to increase by more than one percent in 2018, reflecting an anticipated rise in farm real estate value.