Agricultural Economics Department
Cornhusker Economics
Date of this Version
2014
Document Type
Newsletter Issue
Citation
CORNHUSKER ECONOMICS, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, May 7, 2014
Abstract
The average net farm income dropped 55 percent overall from $382,316 in 2012 to $174,695 in 2013 (see figure 1 on next page). For many of the producers included in the averages, the significant cause of the drop came from a decrease in corn prices. At the end of 2012, we found the average price to be $6.95, and only $4.00 at the close of 2013. For producers who typically hold a significant amount of unpriced grain at the end of the year, this drop in price created a significant change to their accrual basis net farm income for 2013 that they most likely won’t feel on a cash basis until 2014. We saw a more modest drop in the inventory price of soybeans; while there was a significant increase in the price of cattle over the same time. In 2012, we saw 15 percent of the farms in the study with net accrual incomes of over $750,000. In 2013, there was less than one percent in the same income range. On the other side, we also saw 15 percent of the farms lose money in 2012. That percentage increased to 17 percent in 2013. There was certainly a significant change to the overall financial outlook for farms in Nebraska this year.
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