The Minnesota and North Dakota Farm Business Management Education programs have compiled their annual financial summary of farms in the Red River Valley.
This is the most detailed farm analysis information available to the public for this region. It is available at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/farmmgmt/FBM.htm and will soon be available at www.mgt.org .
Financial performance in 2005 was much worse than in 2004. Gross revenues were similar, but total expenses were up 10 percent. This caused net farm income to shrink by 49 percent. All parts of the Red River Valley suffered a decline from the previous year.
However, the situation is particularly serious in the northern end of the Red River Valley, where excess moisture has caused successive years of subpar profit.
The average net farm income of participants in Kittson and Marshall counties in the northwest corner of Minnesota was $13,400 in 2004 and a loss of $43,200 in 2005.
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This compares with a four-county average in the southern valley (Clay and Wilkin counties in Minnesota and Cass and Richland counties in North Dakota) of $95,500 in 2004 and $54,600 in 2005.
The average size of all 234 farms in the summary is 1,734 acres. The average net farm income was $44,160, before income and self-employment taxes. The predominant crops by sales were sugar beets, wheat and soybeans.
In 2005, on average, there was a positive return from growing dry edible beans, corn, soybeans, alfalfa and sugar beets.
However, losses occurred when sugar beets were grown on cash-rented land using joint-venture sugar beet stock. Wheat and barley were unprofitable in 2005.
Copies of the summary are available by contacting Ron Dvergsten, Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls at 218-681-0797.
