Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — A new farm income projection has ticked upward, largely due to higher cattle prices, an agriculture finance center reports.
Nebraska’s farm income is projected to be nearly $7.8 billion in 2023, according to the fall report released Friday by the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri.
The report, produced in conjunction with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability, rose from a projection in March of $7.3 billion in farm income.
While lower crop prices were expected to drop receipts from crops by about 14% in Nebraska, rising receipts from cattle and calves are projected to be up $2.4 billion, more than offsetting that, the report said.
“Higher production expenses year after year are increasingly challenging profit margins, but for now, strong farm income prospects for 2023 show the strength of the agricultural sector in the state,” the report stated.
While drought conditions persisted in Nebraska in 2023, the report said they weren’t projected to have as big of an effect across the state as they did in 2022.