A recent Nebraska Farm Business Association report shows average net farm income in Nebraska for 2017 increased slightly. It marks the second consecutive year, average farm income for their participants increased. Nebraska Farm Bureau Senior Economist Jay Rempe says the group works with the state’s farmers in financial planning, accounting, and tax issues. He says while the income went up, farmers also accumulated more debt.
He says while the report didn’t indicate what led to the increase he thinks it had to do with farmers doing a good job controlling their costs and managing their operations.
Rempe says because this report covered last year, it did not include the impacts of the recent trade war negatively hitting U.S. agriculture. He expects that to surface in next year’s figures. Rempe says just last month, Nebraska farmers were already suffering significantly from the trade war.
Rempe says the Association’s report showed the average total debt climbed by 10 percent in 2017 reaching $1.3 million on average.
