USDA photo by Kirsten Strough

The USDA Economic Research Service released its latest projections for 2024 farm income. While the numbers are still down from 2023, the outlook is slightly better than the forecast released this spring.

The updated forecast predicts net cash farm income for the 2024 calendar year will decrease by $12 billion, down about 7% from 2023. Net farm income is expected to fall $6.5 billion, which would be 4.4%. The USDA’s spring projection forecast net farm income would fall 26%.

Much of the upward revision is due to the livestock outlook. The USDA projects total animal product recipes to increase by $17.8 billion. This is a 7.1 percent bump. A prime driver is egg demand. With a 35% growth, representing about $6 billion, eggs account for more than half of the increase in animal product receipts.

Dairy producers are expected to witness a 47.2% increase in average net farm income due to higher milk receipts and lower expenses. Lower commodity prices result in power feed costs. Beef producers are projected to see a 9.7% increase and hog producers are projected to see an 11% increase.

Read more on the USDA’s latest farm income outlook here.