LINCOLN, Neb.—Farming costs in Nebraska were higher than the national average according to a new report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which some analysts said is because of irrigation and corn prices.
Nebraska production costs per farm were up 9 percent in 2006 from 2005, nearly $250,000 per farm, according to the service’s report released in August.
Additionally, costs including fertilizer, fuel, feed and others were more than double the national average.
Gail Hanneman of the statistics service’s Lincoln office said the statistics make sense because other states have more small farms, lowering their averages.
At the last agricultural census in 2002, Nebraska had 8,000 farms producing $1,000 or less per year, while Kansas had 16,500 and Iowa had 20,000, Hanneman said.
Hanneman said those numbers show that there are more opportunities in other states to make money in other ways while farming part-time.
“It kind of stands to reason because there’s more industry and stuff in those states,” Hanneman said. “So a lot more people work off the farm.”
Hanneman said part-time farming in Nebraska mostly happens in populated areas near Interstate 80.
The higher expenses in Nebraska were mostly because of livestock, with costs up 29 percent in 2006 from 2005.
Nebraska was fourth in total production expenses, trailing California, Texas and Iowa.
But Bruce Johnson, an agricultural economists with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, questioned how the survey results could show such a wide gap.
Data for the survey was gathered from farmers and ranchers with similar profiles.
“I would almost think that there are some statistical reporting issues here that are not showing up,” Johnson said. “There isn’t any reason why Nebraska should be so much above Kansas and even way above Texas on a per farm basis.”
Johnson said a more reliable measure could be Nebraska’s overall total farming production costs of $11.5 billion.
Johnson said it was “just one more measure to see that this is a big business.”
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star,
