2007 Farm Expenditures Up 10%

U.S. farm production expenditures totaled $260 billion in 2007, up 9.3% from the revised 2006 total of $238 billion, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. For the first year ever, all expense items were higher than the previous year, except for miscellaneous capital expenses, which were unchanged.

Contributing the most to the increase percentage-wise were: fertilizer, lime, and soil conditioners, up 26%; feed, up 21%; fuels, up 14%; agricultural chemicals, up 11%; and tractors and self-propelled equipment, up 11%.

Total fuels expense, at $12.7 billion, was up 14% in 2007. Diesel, the largest sub- component, was at $7.71 billion, accounting for 61% of the fuels expense. Gasoline was at $2.74 billion, up 16%. LP-gas (propane) was at $1.5 billion, up 17%. The “other fuels” category was at $750 million, up 4.2%. In 2007, the average per farm, U.S. total farm expenditure was $125,648, an increase of 10% over 2006. On average, U.S. farm operations spent: $18,412 on feed; $16,575 on farm services; $12,903 on livestock and poultry purchases; $12,564 on labor; $8,988 on rent; and $8,070 on fertilizer, lime and soil conditioners.

Average total expenditures for large farms (sales over $1 million) were $3.06 million, 4.3 times larger than the next largest economic class. The average total expenditure for a crop farm was $151,978, compared with $106,742 per livestock farm.

Total expenditures by farm production region were up for four of the five regions in 2007. The Plains had the highest increase at 16%, followed by the Midwest, up 14%. The Midwest region contributed the most to U.S. total farm production expenditures with expenses of $74.4 billion, or 29% of the total. ❖