USDA’s Economic Research Service released its September 2022 Farm Income Forecast Thursday. Farm Bureau Economist Bernt Nelson says USDA revised farm income to be higher by $7.3 billion, or 5.2 percent, from 2021.
“This follows an increase of $45.9 billion in 2021 from 2020. ERS also adjusted the February 4 net farm income projection for 2021, increasing the forecast in the September report by $21.3 billion, or nearly 30 percent.”
While that sounds great, Nelson is sure to remind folks that expenses are up as well.
“The February report showed a 17 percent increase from 2021 to 2022 in total farm expenses. The September forecast increased total expenses 437.3 billion. The greatest increases in expenses came first from fertilizer up 41 percent, and second place was pesticides up 25 percent from last year. In third place, we have fuel costs increasing by 22 percent since 2021.”
Nelson adds there have been a lot of changes globally since the February report.
“I think the Russian invasion of Ukraine was really a wakeup call when we talk about a secure food supply. Disruptions caused by the invasion caused a spike in crop prices, and then they came way back down again.”
Nelson says those prices came way back down because farmers really stepped up to the plate with production, causing some of our supply concerns to mellow out.
Source: NAFB News Service
