Included in the Seventh District 1st Quarter of 2011 Farmland Price report (Chicago) was information of farm profitability as related to recently higher farm input costs. This report includes the states of Iowa, most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
- From the fourth quarter of 2010, corn prices increased 18 percent and soybean prices increased 12 percent.
- Compared with a year ago, corn prices were 50 percent higher and soybean prices were 29 percent higher.
- Milk, hog, and cattle prices were all up at least 20 percent from the first quarter of 2010.
- Prices for these products are forecasted by the USDA to remain above the levels of the first quarter of 2011 throughout the rest of this year.
- Based on the USDA index of prices paid by farmers, the increase in input costs for agriculture was 9.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the first quarter of 2010.
- So, agriculture overall saw higher profit levels in the past year—a trend that will likely continue in upcoming quarters. source