1996 Annual Report Of The Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association

For the Southwestern Association, average accrual net farm income was $62,699 in 1996 for the 203 farms included in this report. This is an increase of 9% from 1995 making 1996 another high income year in a job with large swings in income. This volatility can be seen whether income is measured in nominal terms or constant dollars. The 20% of these 203 farms with the highest net farm income had an average profit of $157,052--an increase from 1995. The low 20% of the farms had an average loss of -$6,010 in 1996, which was a smaller loss than in 1995. Average gross cash farm income in 1995 was $382,502--a 10% increase from 1995. Four sources of sales made up 83% of total income in 1996: corn, beef finishing, hogs, and soybeans. Corn sales increased 12% between 1995 and 1996; soybean sales, 23%; and hog sales, 24%. Beef finishing decreased by 15%. Government payments (of all types) continued to decline to $9,075 in 1996. As a percentage of total income, government payments decreased from 9% in 1993 to 2% in 1996. Cash expenses increased to an average of $299,610 in 1996--an 8% increase from 1995. As a percentage of both cash expenses and depreciation in 1996, feed expenses; feeder purchases; seed, fertilizer, and crop chemicals; land rent; and depreciation continued to dominate. The rate of return on assets (ROA) was steady and the rate of return to equity (ROE) decreased slightly in 1996 compared to 1995. ROA averaged 10% and ROE was 12% using assets valued on a cost basis. Using a market value basis, average total equity (of the sole proprietors) was $520,245 at the end of 1996--an increase of $28,290 for these 173 farms during the year. Average equity continued to improve since 1987. The average debt-asset ratio decreased slightly to 47% at the end of 1996. The report provides additional information on profitability, liquidity, and solvency as well as other whole-farm information and detailed information on crop and livestock enterprises. Also reported are whole-farm financial condition and performance by county, sales size class, and type of farm and corn and soybean returns by county.