2006 NORTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK: REPRESENTATIVE FARMS, 2006-2015

Net farm income for nearly all representative farms in 2015 is projected to be higher than in 2005. 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 most farms will decrease slightly throughout the forecast period. Debt-to-asset ratios for the low-profit farms are expected to increase throughout the forecast period.