USDA’s latest forecast for farm earnings estimates that net farm income will be down 6.3% this year to $140.7 billion, when adjusted for inflation.
USDA estimates net cash farm income, a measure that more closely tracks farmers' cash flow, will be 3.5% lower this year at $158.8 billion, the Economic Research Service reported Tuesday.
Both net farm income and net cash farm income would be above their inflation-adjusted, 20-year average from 2004-2023 of $121.4 billion and $144.7 billion, respectively.
Net cash farm income is based on cash receipts from farming, plus government payments and other farm-related income, minus cash expenses. Net farm income also factors in depreciation and changes in inventory values.
The latest estimates are close to the numbers ERS had forecasted in September: $140 billion in net farm income and $154.2 billion in net cash farm income.
The overall decline in farm income this year masks sharp disparities between row crops and livestock and poultry products.
Total crop receipts are forecast down $25 billion, or 9.2%, this year, largely because of lower returns on corn and soybeans. But receipts from animals and animal products are expected to increase 8.4%, or $21 billion, reflecting strong prices for cattle, eggs, milk, broiler chickens and hogs, ERS says.
Republican leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees are pushing in the congressional lame duck session to pass special assistance for crop producers affected by declining market prices.
The latest farm income forecast shows producers "are in serious trouble, and the outlook remains grim," House Ag Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., and Senate Ag's top Republican, John Boozman of Arkansas, said in a joint statement.
"From 2023 to today, row crop producers alone have lost more than $50 billion, and stand to lose even more next year. Immediate action is required to stabilize the farm economy and prevent a crisis that will only become more costly to address over time."
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