The Truth About the Current Farm Economy heritage.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heritage.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Modern farming faces an intense labor shortage. AgTech providers are rolling out impressive autonomous tech. What are the intersections with on-road autonomy?
Net Farm Income Most agricultural economists and policy wonks saw this coming. USDA’s September 2020 farm income projections suggested net farm income (a broad measure of farm profitability across the entire farm sector) would reach $103 billion this year, up 23% from the prior year and the highest level since 2013’s record high.
That was before the second $14 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and before new crop inventories began to shrink as the outlook for U.S. agricultural exports improved, i.e., China and Phase 1. Assuming those export sales are realized, USDA’s December 2020 Farm Income Forecast confirmed what many expected nominal net farm income in 2020 will reach nearly $120 billion, up 43% from 2019 and the second-highest of all time. Yet, farm cash receipts from crop and livestock sales are down $3 billion and the lowest since 2016. Today’s article reviews USDA’s most recent farm income projections.