NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota
State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
April 2, 1998
Average net farm income of western North Dakota farms enrolled in the North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program dropped to $12,309 in 1997, down 56 percent from the previous year, according to a new report.
Andrew Swenson, farm management specialist for the North Dakota State University Extension Service, says the western part of the state had the lowest net farm income in the eight years he has been studying these reports, even substantially lower than in 1989.
"Hard times are nothing new to cow-calf producers in western North Dakota," says Swenson. "But crop production in recent years had helped the region offset some of the red ink from livestock. Not so in 1997. Ironically, in the same year untimely wet weather in eastern North Dakota provided ideal disease conditions in small grains, lack of moisture resulted in nearly complete crop failure for some durum farms in the northwest. That, coupled with high expense, equaled large losses."
The farms in the report represent a large geographic area, land west of the Missouri River plus the four northwest counties of North Dakota. Yet the farm business management instructors believe the farms summarized in the report—average size slightly over 2,500 acres, including crop and pasture land, and average gross sales of $177,000—are representative of the region.
Western region agriculture depends more on beef cow-calf enterprises than does agriculture in other areas of the state. Calf prices were higher in 1997 than the previous year but high feed costs and death losses caused by a long hard winter limited profit to an average of $2 per cow.
"This was the first black ink in three years, but $2 per cow does not go far in providing for family living expenses and making principal payments on debt," says Swenson.
Net farm income in the west has been dropping since 1993.
"But 1993 was a stellar year in the west, much better than in the Red River Valley," says Swenson. "In fact, 1992 through 1994 were very good years in the west because of strong profit with beef cattle and small grains."
Swenson says the report is designed to help farmers make management decisions by providing measures of comparison to other farms in the area. Detailed 1997 costs and returns for each crop enterprise are given. The study also might be useful to educators, bankers and consultants.
The report costs $5 plus handling and shipping, and can be ordered from Farm Business Management, P.O. Box 6022, Bismarck, ND 58606, telephone (701) 328-3162.
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Source: Andrew Swenson (701) 231-7379
Editor: Barry Brissman (701) 231-7866
Click here for a pdf version of this graphic.
Click here for a pdf version of this graphic.