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Page 6 March 23, 2017
2017 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine
LINCOLN DAILY NEWS
running half the cost of producing them.
All “gloom and doom?” Not really. We’re
coming off of an era of unprecedented profits.
Those who saved some back are weathering the
situation better. Many replaced equipment, and
thereby reduced some of the costs associated
with their operations. The scale of production has
also increased with farm size expanding for the
commercial producers. This allows for smaller
profit margins per acre and still maintaining some
semblance of making a living. Input costs also
continue to decline, but not as fast as the income
side has faded.
Specialty production and sales also are a bright
spot. Community Supported Agriculture and
Farmer’s Markets offer small-scale opportunities
for increasing income. The same goes for specialty
livestock markets. These don’t offset expenses for
large-scale commercial operations, but do offer
some opportunities for producers of all sizes to
have concentrated income on a few acres.
As the spring planting season approaches,
everyone involved in agriculture is an optimist.
The thought of nurturing a crop through the
season, and producing a bountiful harvest, is why
producers continue to ride the roller coaster of
farm income. And, if anyone can figure out how to
make it work, it would be the farmer.