Cattle, calves remain largest income source in 1995

The preliminary 1996 South Dakota cash receipts from farm marketings, excluding government payments, were up 10 percent from 1995 totaling $3,731 million. Sales from all livestock, poultry, and their related products accounted for $1,646 million, or 44 percent of the 1996 total receipts. Sales from all crops totaled $2,084 million. Receipts for all livestock products were down 2 percent from 1995, while receipts for all crops were up 22 percent from 1995.

The final 1995 total cash receipts from farm marketings, including government payments, were $3,628.7 million, virtually unchanged from 1994. Livestock and crop marketings accounted for 46 percent and 47 percent of the total, respectively.

Cattle and calves remained the largest income source in 1995, accounting for 28.8 percent of the total. Corn, soybeans, and wheat were second, third, and fourth, accounting for 14.5 percent, 12.2 percent, and 10.0 percent of the total, respectively.

Government payments accounted for $245 million of the 1995 total. Payments from the wheat and feed grain programs accounted for 54 percent of the total government payments. Payments from the feed grain program were up 95 percent from 1994 at $104.1 million, and wheat program payments were down 44 percent from 1994 at $28.6 million. Farm production expenditures during 1995 totaled $3,051.9 million, up 3 percent from 1994. The 1995 net farm income for South Dakota totaled $673 million, down 47 percent from 1994.

The preliminary 1996 marketing year average prices for crops decreased from 1995 levels, except for rye, all hay, flaxseed, and soybeans. Corn prices were down $1.03 to $2.20 per bushel. Sorghum prices decreased $1.64 per hundredweight to $3.66, while oat prices were down 8 cents to $1.80 per bushel, The all wheat price showed a decrease of 73 cents to $3.95 per bushel, and potatoes decreased 45 cents to $4.30 per hundredweight. The sunflower price, at $10.30 per hundredweight, was down 40 cents and barley prices decreased 24 cents to S2.55 per bushel. Rye prices showed an increase of 82 cents to $3.35 per bushel and all hay prices, at $70.00 per ton, were up $12.50 from last year. Flaxseed prices were up $1.13 to $6.25 per bushel while soybeans rose 22 cents to $6.50 per bushel.

The 1996 annual average prices for all hogs, barrows and gilts, sows, sheep, and lambs increased from 1995 while prices for beef cattle, steers and heifers, cows, and calves were down. All hogs increased $10.70 to $52.40 per hundredweight. The barrows and gilts price, at $54.00 per hundredweight, was up $11.70 and the sow price was up $10.20 to $39.90. Sheep prices were up $2.10 to $29.70 per hundredweight and Jamb prices rose $13.60 to $93.80 per hundredweight. Beef cattle prices fell $5.20 per hundredweight to $56.40 while steers and heifers were down $2.40 to $63.70 per hundredweight. Cow prices, at $29.50, were down $6,70 per hundredweight and the calf price fell $6.10 per hundredweight to $62.60.

United States

The 1995 United States cash receipts from farm marketings (including government payments) totaled $193.0 billion, an increase of 2 percent from 1994. Of the 1995 total. 45 percent resulted from the sales of livestock, poultry, and related products. Crop sales accounted for 51 percent of the total, while government payments accounted for the remaining 4 percent. The five leading states for farm cash receipts (including government payments) in 1995 were California, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska. and Illinois, South Dakota ranked twenty-first in the total farm and livestock cash receipts and twentieth in crops.

Prices

Nationally, prices received by farmers in 1996 were up for oats, rye, flaxseed, soybeans, and all hay while all wheat. corn, sorghum, barley, and potatoes decreased from a year ago. All hay increased $10.80 to $93.00 per ton, and the oat price, at $1.90 per bushel, was up 23 cents. Corn prices dropped 54 cents to $2.70 and the barley price, at $2.75, fell 14 cents.

The United States 1996 average price for beef cattle, at $58.70 per hundredweight, was down 5 percent from 1995 and calf prices decreased 20 percent to $58.40 per hundredweight. The average hog price, at $51.90 per hundredweight, was up 28 percent from 1995. Lamb prices averaged $88.20 per hundredweight, up 13 percent from 1995, and sheep prices, at $29.90 per hundredweight, were up 7 percent.