'Nebraska farm numbers fall, upper sales brackets bulge'
(Lincoln Journal Star) -- Nebraska lost 300 more farming operations in 2007, but the bigger news might be in how high grain prices are increasing the numbers of farms in higher sales brackets. Despite an overall drop in the number of Nebraska farms and ranches from 47,600 to 47,300, those with annual sales of $500,000 or more increased nearly 10%, from 4,100 to 4,500. There was a 20% increase, from 5,000 to 6,000, in farms with sales between $250,000 and $500,000. The Nebraska field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service released its annual report on farm numbers Friday. As prosperous as things are looking for grain farmers, livestock producers face a much more challenging year. Losses for operators of cattle feedlots could easily run $75-$85 a head in the first half of 2008. After that, there’s the possibility of profits of perhaps $5-$10 a head. The state’s cattle and hog sectors account for more than half of all farm income. But the pork business could be an even bigger struggle over the next 11 months due to high corn and soybean prices, higher imports of Canadian hogs, and a big inventory of U.S. hogs.
