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Missouri Farm Incomes Down Slightly, But Still Above Average

The nationwide drought devastated corn and soybean crops. But lack of supply led to high corn and soybean prices.
Samantha Powers
/
KRCU

Missouri farmers’ incomes will be above average this year, despite low yields.

Net farm incomes will hit 2.8 billion dollars this year. That’s less than 2011’s record-setting incomes, but still above average for the last 8 years.

Scott Brown is an agricultural economist with the University of Missouri. He says the nationwide drought diminished supply across the country and pushed corn and soybean prices up.

But Brown cautions not all farmers benefit.

“If I was a producer that failed to produce a crop at all, these record prices don’t mean too much to me,” Brown said. “It’s only for the producers that might have produced half a crop or something that are really seeing the benefits on the price side.”

But livestock producers took a big hit. They suffered the double-whammy of dry, drought-stricken pasture land and paying for those high grain prices.

Brown says consumers should expect to see higher prices for beef, pork, chicken and dairy products.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if we could be anywhere [like] 6 plus percent higher on those meat and dairy product prices as we get part of the way in 2013,” Brown said.

Brown estimates Missouri corn yields will be the lowest since 1999, and this year’s soybean harvest will be the worst since 1995.