Mar 27, 2008 9:47 am US/Central
Survey: Minn. Farm Income Up 70 Percent In 2007
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Farms reporting for the survey had a median net farm income of more than $105,000 in 2007.
AP
A survey by farm management programs at the state's colleges and universities has found that 2007 was the most profitable year for Minnesota farmers since the Nixon administration.
The survey of about 2,600 farms found that median farm income rose more than 70 percent last year. It was the most profitable year for the state's farmers since 1973.
Farms reporting for the survey had a median net farm income of more than $105,000 in 2007. That compares to about $61,000 the year before.
The findings come from farm management programs at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
"What we hear is that farmers were in a pretty good mood when they came in with their books at the end of the year," said Dale Nordquist with the University of Minnesota's Center for Farm Financial Management. "By and large, it was a very good year."
Rising grain prices helped farmers. Corn, soybean and wheat markets all moved sharply higher in 2007; corn nearly doubled in price.
Some of that can be attributed to ethanol. Farmers planted more acres with corn to meet demand for the fuel, which lowered the supplies of soybeans and wheat. As supply went down on those crops, prices went up.
Nordquist said dairy farmers also had a good year, "which is surprising with the cost of feed going up. But the price of milk kept pace with the cost of feed, at least for this year, so the dairy farmers had another pretty good year."
The average profit for dairy farmers more than doubled in 2007 to just over $93,000.
However, there were some weak spots in the farm economy. Hog farmers, for example, saw their net income fall almost 60 percent to $66,000 last year from the year before.
Their feed costs spiked due to high corn prices while at the same time the price paid for hogs at processing plants sharply declined.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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