Farmers will make less money than last year, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS). Net farm income in 2024 is forecast to decrease $6.5 billion (4.4%) to $140.0 billion, but the picture is much improved from USDA’s forecast earlier this year for a 25.5% decline for 2024 versus 2023 levels. It is also an improvement from the 19.5% decline in net farm income seen from 2022 to 2023. Net cash farm income declined 20.9% from 2022 to 2023 but is only expected to decline 7.2% to $154.1 billion this year.

Citing challenges like shocks in the market, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, as reasons for the decline, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said 2024 is still expected to close out a four-year streak of net farm income that’s above the 20-year average.

Areas of improvement in 2024, Vilsack noted, include rising income for livestock producers, declining production expenses and rising farm equity.

USDA forecasts total animal/animal product cash receipts will increase $17.8 billion (7.1%) from 2023 to $267.4 billion in 2024. The cattle, egg and dairy sectors are expected to have the largest increases among animal/animal product commodities.

Still, even though the latest numbers were improved from earlier this year, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president Zippy Duvall was less enthusiastic about them, calling out Congress for “failing America’s families, not just on the farm, but in every home that relies on the safe, affordable food grown by the men and women who work year-round to provide it.”

"The drop in net farm income is not just an economic hiccup; it’s evidence of an agricultural downturn. High inflation, severe weather and plummeting crop prices should serve as a wake-up call for Congress to finally step up and do the right thing by modernizing the farm bill,” he said.

Duvall pointed out that the U.S. has lost 141,000 farms in five years. “Is Congress going to wait to act until we lose another 150,000 or 300,000? It has been two years of kicking the can down the road when it comes to the farm bill, and there is no road left for some farmers in light of the current economic realities and antiquated safety net programs.”

Duvall said it has been more than 100 days since the House Agriculture Committee passed a bipartisan bill that addresses the needs of farm and ranch families. “I call on our elected leaders to show they are capable of putting politics aside—as they have in the past—to pass a new modernized farm bill. It can be done. It must be done."

Even when net farm income was higher, the 2022 "Census of Agriculture" showed that more than half of the farms in the U.S. were not profitable. Currently, farmers are paying the highest dollar amount ever on interest, labor and taxes based on today’s USDA report, AFBF said.