USDA issued its first 2021 farm income forecast Friday, indicating it would be down from the 2020 level for both net farm income and net cash farm income.
The downturn in forecast 2021 farm income comes mostly on the decline in expected government payments — falling from a record $47 billion in 2020 to $23 billion in 2021. The drop in government payments more than offset what is forecast to be increased receipts to farmers from their crops and livestock.
But this will not be USDA's final word on 2021 farm income. At this point in 2020, their farm income outlook for that year lacked the eventual government payments that flowed to U.S. agriculture via two rounds of COVID aid.