Overall, Kentucky is faring better than much of the rest of the nation when it comes to its farm economy. While U.S. farm cash receipts are expected to fall by 1 percent this year, University of Kentucky agricultural economist Will Snell predicts Kentucky’s receipts will increase by about 5 percent.

“These higher receipts, coupled with the last year of tobacco buyout payments and a relatively large percentage of the 2013 corn crop being sold this year, will enable Kentucky net cash income to remain relatively strong in 2014,” Snell said. “Our biggest concern is what is looming in 2015 when buyout payments have ended and a much lower priced grain crop is marketed.”

UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment faculty Snell, Kenny Burdine, Todd Davis and Tim Woods, all from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Jeff Stringer, from the Department of Forestry, and Kentucky Farm Business Management Program coordinator Jerry Pierce shared their agricultural economic outlook for 2015 and an overview of 2014 during the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation conference Dec. 4 in Louisville.

“Despite a lot of concern over current and projected crop prices, we partially attribute Kentucky’s agricultural economy being better than that of the U.S. to the diversity of agriculture we have in our state,” Snell said. “In the midst of a current depressed grain economy, compare Kentucky’s gross or net farm income to that of a grain state, like Illinois. They are really nervous looking into 2015.”

That is because significantly lower anticipated grain prices, coupled with modest changes in land rents, will challenge grain profitability in 2015.

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