Meyer: 2021 Will Close As A Good Year Despite Large Cuts In Federal Payments

In a few days, when producers close the books on the 2021 year, most of those farmers and ranchers will consider it a, "pretty good farm income year," according to USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer.

Meyer noted 2021 looks to wrap up as one of the best years in the past eight. USDA forecasting a 23% increase in net farm income this year. That makes five years in a row of rising net farm incomes. In 2020, a large chunk of farm income came from direct government payments: $45.7 billion worth of the $95 billion all together. Meyer said this year those federal payments will drop to roughly $27 billion.

"And so what you're really seeing is the run up in farm income is despite the pull back in some government payments.  As for every dollar you're losing from a direct government payment, you're getting more than a dollar from the market place and that's what's pushing farm income higher."

Meyer said that's the way farmers prefer it.

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