It’s probably no great shock to find out that you’ve been paying more for farm production expenditures, but now you at least know you are in good company.
According to the most recent USDA data, farm production expenditures were more than 10 percent higher in 2011 compared to 2010, to the tune of a record $318.7 billion.
The National Agriculture Statistics Service says that average production expenditures per farm were 11 percent higher, at more than $146,000 per farm.
And, according to the report, fuel costs accounted for a significant portion of farm production expenditures, with farm operations spending more than $15.3 billion on it in 2011. “Diesel fuel made up nearly two-third of all fuel expenditures, with farmers spending more than $10 billion on this fuel type in 2011, a 23.7 percent increase from 2010. They spent $2.8 billion on gasoline, $1.6 billion on liquefied petroleum gas and $820 million on other fuel in 2011,” according to the USDA.
If you’d like to look at the full report, it’s available here.
Of course, there’s not much you can do about rising production costs. But, you can stop the leaks, which include ensuring that maintenance programs are up to date so you’re not spending more than you should.
What’s been your major production expense increase?
Related Reading:
- Maintenance and the cost of fuel
- 10 Biggest Causes of Machinery Breakdowns (and How to Prevent Them)
