From Agrimoney:
Farmers face lower incomes - for years
Lower grain prices will depress income for US crop farmers to levels less than 15% of those received at the 2012 peak – and growers may have to get used to far lower profitability.University of Illinois researchers warned of a potential end to the farming boom, caused by higher crop prices, which took average net income for a typical Illinois grain farm above $300,000 in 2012.Already incomes have fallen steeply from this top, coming in at $145,000 per farm last year, a decline reflecting largely lower grain prices – estimated at an average of $4.65 per bushel for the 2013 corn harvest compared with $6.93 per bushel in 2012."Crop insurance payments were much lower" too last year, after the huge claims in drought-hit 2012, when claims accounted for about one-third of farm revenues, said Gary Schnitkey, professor at the university's department of agricultural economics.'Below average'And net incomes will fall further this year, to $45,000 per farm a figure which, besides being down two-thirds year on year would be "considerably below any average income level since 2006", Professor Schnitkey said.It would also fall short of the average that growers received in the decade to 2005, before higher crop prices began to send profits soaring....MORE
