By
Net farm income hit record levels in the
state in 2008, but the number of farms and ranches in
The loss of another 200 farm operations fits
a recent pattern in which the best the state has done is stay even with the
previous year. Since 1995, the total is down more than 9,000, or about 15.7
percent.
John Hansen, president of the Nebraska
Farmers Union, said one contributor to declining numbers of crop and livestock
producers is the difficulty the next generation faces in getting established.
"The more senior members of the family,
if they're not in a financial position to help transfer assets at below market
value and help finance beginning farmers, it's difficult -- in this high-risk,
low-margin business called agriculture -- to get a foothold," Hansen said.
National numbers released Friday dropped the
total number of farms and ranches by 90,000 to about 2.2 million.
Elsewhere in the region, the numbers were
unchanged from 2008 in
In
Federal statisticians no longer track
state-by-state changes in livestock operations, but Hansen and Keith Olsen,
president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, suspect some negative
influence in that sector from high feeding costs and lower consumer demand for
meat.
Olsen also touched on the difficulties of
sons and daughters finding a place in the production sector.
"The big challenge of getting involved
in agriculture is the cost of establishing a farm," he said. "And if
you say you want to farm and you go buy land and equipment, it takes a
tremendous amount of capital. And the bigger challenge might be to find land to
rent."
Earlier this week, state lawmakers rejected
a bill that would have put $4 million from a state
investment fund into loans for beginning farmers and small businesses.
The proposal, offered by state
The Farm Bureau was among the promoters of
the idea in
"It just appears that the price tag on
this bill this year . . . chances of it moving forward are awfully, awfully
slim," Olsen said.
"There's no question," said Hansen,
"that there are a lot more farm and ranch kids that would like to come
back and farm and ranch than are able to -- and that's a bright spot."
But record farm income in 2008 is not enough
to make a difference. "The trends we have right now that drive these
numbers are long-term and they are chronic. And so, if you have four to five
years of low income and one year of good income, it doesn't change the trend
line."
The 2009 drop of 200 is much less than
"We don't like to see any decline,"
Olsen said, "but it's encouraging that it's as low as it is."
Reach Art Hovey at 473-7223 or at ahovey@journalstar.com