US Ag Production Costs Sharply Drop in 2015

U.S. Farmers spent $362.8 billion on agriculture production in 2015, an 8.8% year over year decrease.  Economist Tony Dorn told the Washington Ag Network the drop is due to dramatic decreases in commodity prices, forcing farmers to tighten their belts.

“Farmers of course are very quick to adapt to changing commodities prices, which have been very volatile in these years.  And that’s why expenditures have gone down.”

Last year, the largest expenditures, nationwide were Feed (16.1% of total expenditures), livestock (at 12.5%), labor (8.8%).  Dorn said as far as future expenditures, the statistics don’t serve as a barometer for future economic health.  As far as states with the highest expenditure cots, Nebraska topped the 2015 list, followed by California, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, followed by the Evergreen State.

“In Washington, on average farmers spent $233,889 per farm.  And that includes all types of farms , from crop farms, livestock farms.”

The average American farmer paid a little more than $176,000 in expenditures for 2015.  For a complete breakdown of the numbers, visit USDA's Website.

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