Looking Ahead With Dread? Seems Like Everyone Is…

Agriculture Online recently polled its readers about their predictions for the new year. Many said they expect their income to go down in the next year: Almost half of those responding said they anticipate income to be much lower than 2008.

University of Illinois Extension farm management specialist Gary Schnitkey said recently he sees a mixed bag for ‘09, with some expenses trending higher while others back off the peaks seen in ‘08.

The net result will probably be lower input costs, on average, than earlier thought. Fertilizer and fuel will likely moderate in price a bit, but production costs in general will continue to touch record levels. For the ‘09 crops, Schnitkey estimates per-acre non-land costs of around $470 for corn and $296 for soybeans, compared to earlier estimates of $569 and $324, respectively.