2007 North Dakota Agricultural Outlook: Representative Farms, 2007-2016

Net farm income for nearly all representative farms in 2016 is projected to be higher than in 2006. Low-profit farms, which comprise 20% of the farms in the study, may not have financial resiliency to survive without off-farm income. Commodity prices and yields are projected to increase slightly faster than costs, which will increase net farm income. Cropland prices and cash rental rates are projected to increase slightly in all regions. Debt-to-asset ratios for all farms will decrease slightly throughout the forecast period. Debt-to-asset ratios for the low-profit farms are expected to remain near the 0.50 level.