FARM INCOME 1928 



Total estimated sales of crop and 

 livestock items from 1928 production 

 are valued at 1.0 per cent larger than 

 1927. Nineteen twenty-seven sales in 

 turn were nearly 20 per cent larger 

 than those of the relatively short crop 

 year of 1926 while the yearly esti- 

 mates since 1923 have shown a steady 

 upward climb as agriculture has ex> 

 panded production during this period. 



Paralleling the climb of yearly in- 

 come to agriculture, bank resources 

 and deposits during the same period 

 exhibit a similar upward trend. 

 Tax payments, both state and federal, 

 have increased during this period 

 while such data on indebtedness as is 

 available shows a decline in debt. 



Very little change in total numbers 

 of farms operating has occurred dur- 

 ing this period studied and as a re- 

 sult the growth in yearly income has 

 been accompanied by similar growth 

 in the return per farm unit. Too little 

 is now known of relative production 

 costs to determine the net income to 

 farms during this period or to what 

 extent the higher gross income has 

 been offset by higher costs. 



However such barometers as bank 

 deposits, tax payments and debt re- 

 duction considering the large share of 

 these transactions that come from ag- 

 riculture in Montana are indications 



that the financial condition of the state's agriculture has improved during the 



past few years. 



TOTAL 1928 INCOME 



The estimated total farm income for 1928 is $153,775,000 compared with 

 $152,003,000, the revised estimate for 1927, and $133,448,000 for 1926. The yearly 

 estimates were started in 1923 for which year the figure was placed at $94,995,000. 



In 1928 estimate as between income from crop sales and livestock products 

 sales, the former decreased compared with 1927 while the latter increased. In 

 fact larger marketings and the higher levels of livestock prices more than offset 

 both a slight reduction in crop production as well as lower prices in case of some 

 of the principal crops. 



BASIS OF THE ESTIMATES 



In preparing estimates of income, the official estimates of crop production 

 are used with the prices received by producers on December 1 applied to that 

 portion of the crops estimated as sold or to be sold from the total production. 

 Made on the same basis each year these estimates are comparable and are used 

 primarily to show relative changes in crop income from year to year rather than 

 attempting to measure the exact income each year. 



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