Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
11/9/99
Contacts:
Paul Lasley, Extension Sociology, (515) 294-0937, plasley@iastate.edu
Del Marks, Extension Communication Systems, (515) 294-9807,
dkmarks@iastate.edu
Farmers Say Next Five Years Will See Many Changes in Operations
AMES, Iowa -- Paying closer attention to how agricultural products are marketed and reducing debt are two of the ways Iowa farmers are planning to keep their businesses profitable during the next five years.
Three out of four farm operators (77 percent) responding to the 1999 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll said they expect to spend more time on marketing decisions in the near future, according to Paul Lasley, Iowa State University Extension rural sociologist who directed the poll. Crop insurance also was viewed as an important farm business tool, with 63 percent saying they would buy it.
Debt reduction also figures into the plans of a majority of farm operators. Fifty-six percent say they will work to reduce short-term debt in the next five years, and 54 percent say they will make an effort to reduce long-term debt. In responding to the debt questions, about one farmer in four indicated they do not have any debt, with 25 percent indicating no short term debt and 26 percent indicating no long term debt.
The farmland base that is essential to most farm businesses also figures prominently in plans for the future. Fifty-six percent of the farm operators say they will continue to work with the same land base for the next five years. Fourteen percent say they will buy additional land and 17 percent say they will seek to rent more land. Only 4 percent expect to sell land in the next five years, and only 8 percent think they will cut back on the number of acres they rent.
The mix of products produced on most Iowa farms also may change in the next five years. Thirty-two percent of the respondents said they would look into ways to add on-farm value to existing enterprises. Twenty-one percent said they expect to reduce the numbers or quit raising hogs, and 12 percent said they would reduce the numbers or quit raising cattle. Only 13 percent said they would expand their current livestock operations. In answering those questions, 56 percent of the respondents indicated they do not currently raise hogs, and 43 percent said they do not raise cattle.
"These data indicate that farmers are exploring ways to improve their profit margins by changing the mix of enterprises, reducing debt and doing a better job of marketing," Lasley said.
In managing the farm business, 25 percent said they expect to adopt computerized record keeping in the next five years. Eleven percent said they would raise crops under a market contract. Nine percent said they would diversify by adding new crops, and 13 percent said they expect to make a major farm equipment purchase such as a tractor or combine. Ten percent also said they would build additional grain storage.
Looking to the future, 13 percent said they have plans to take a son, daughter or other family member into the farm operation in the next five years, while 57 percent said that is not likely. Fifteen percent expect to quit farming entirely, while another 26 percent have not decided whether they will continue to farm.
On a personal basis, 29 percent say they probably will buy a new car or pickup during the next five years, and 10 percent say they expect to build a new home or extensively remodel an existing home.
The Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll is funded by ISU Extension and the Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. The purpose of the poll, conducted since 1982, is to ask farmers' views on a variety of rural and agricultural issues. Mail questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 4,947 Iowa farm operators, with a 52 percent response rate.
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