xt7d251fkn60 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7d251fkn60/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1956 journals 041 English Lexington : Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Kentucky Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Progress report (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n.41 text Progress report (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n.41 1956 2014 true xt7d251fkn60 section xt7d251fkn60 Progress Report 4I September I956
I   By MILTON SHUFFETT R
Department of Agriculturol Economics '
, AGRICULTURAL EXPERINIENT STATION
UNIVERSITY of KENTUCKY I
LEXINGTON

    

 KENTUCKY FARM INCOME 1924 -54
K By Milton Shuffett
During 1924 -54 cash receipts from farm marketings in Kentucky
varied from a low of 78 million dollar s in 19 3 3 to a high of 620 million
y dollars in 1951. Cas h receipts from farm marketings averaged 288 mil-
lion dollar s per year during this period.
The relative importance of live stock and crops to total cash farm
income did not change appreciable (Fig . 1). Of the 31 years between 1924
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1925 I93O 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 QW"
Y E A R S
Fig . 1. - Percentage of Total Cash Receipts from Tobacco, Other Crops , __
and Live stock, Kentucky , 19 24 - 54 .
and 1954, income from livestock exceeded that from crops in 18 years ,
while income from crops was greater than that fr om livestock in 13 of the
years . Each averaged 50 percent of the total during 1924 -54 .
Figure 2 shows the cash income from farm marketings by source s
· for selected periods from 1924 to 1953 and for 19 54. Tobacco was the
most important s our ce of cas h farm income throughout this period, account -
ing for an average of 107 million dollars per year and 3 7 percent of the to -
tal during 1924 -54, The second most important source of cash farm income
9 was meat animals , averaging 9 2 million dollar s per year during this period .
3

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Fig . 2 . - Cash Farm Income by Sources , Kentucky, Selected Periods
1924-53 and 1954.
Changes in Sources of Farm Income O
Although the proportion of cash income received from sale s of '
c rops and live stock changed relatively little over the period, some im -
portant change s in income s ource s occ urred within the broad categorie s
of cro s and livestock Tables l and 2 .
P
T he proportion of total live stock income received from the sale of
cattle and calve s increased. Dairy products and hog s contributed a fair - I
ly c onstant proportion of total income from live stock and live stock pro —
ducts, while the ro ortion of total live stock income from shee and lambs
P P P
4

 Table 1. · Percentage of Total Cash Farm Income from Livestock and Livestock .
Products, by Sources of Income, 1924-1954.
  I
  1924- 1930- 1936- 1942- 1948-
29 35 41 47 53 1954
.   .
Livestock
Cattle and calves 22.5; 21.5 29.3 29.4 36.8 32.9
Dairy Products 25.2 30.1 23.1 21.6 22.6 26.2
Hogs 17.2 14.5 19.4 22.8 19.9 19.8 1
Sheep and lambs 8.6 10.3 9.7 6.0 4.8 4.5
Poultry 22..7 22.0 17.0 19.5 14.5 15.3 "
4 Other 3.4 1.7 1.5 0.7 1.4 0.7
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Table 2. — Percentage of Total Cash Farm Income from Crops by Source of Income
1924-1954
1924- 1930- 1936- 1942- 1948-
29 35 41 47 53 1954
’  
Crops {
I Tobacco 68.5 71.3 73.2 76.4 76.5 82.4 ___*·
Wheat 3.6 3.8 5.4 2.8 2.5 2.9
A Corn 6.5 3.9 4.4 5.2 7.1 3.9 -
Hay 3.8 3.9 1.4 2.1 1.8 1.3
Soybeans 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.9 1.8 1.3
Truck and potatoes 5.6 6.5 5.2 4.2 2.0 1.2
Fruit 3.8 2.8 2.7 2.3 1.4 0.7
Forest 5.4 5.0 4.1 2.1 3.3 3.1
y Other 2.7 3.6 3.4 4.0 3.6 3.2
1 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
V 5

 and from poultry and poultry products declined in importance during the \ l
1924-54 period.
With record yields per acre, tobacco in 1954 contributed a greater
percentage of the total income received from the sale of crops than in pre- » ·_
vious years. Over 80 percent of the income from crops was from the sale .
of tobacco in 1954. Wheat, hay, truck crops, potatoes, fruit, and forest
products showed downward trends in terms of percentages of total income
from the sale of crops. Corn sales made up a larger portion of the total
crop income during 1948-53 than in any period since 1924, but declined
sharply in 1954. Soybeans, though becomirlg a more important source of
cash income, accounted for less than 2 percent of the total income receiv-
ed from the sale of crops.
Kentucky Farm Income Compared with National Farm Income
Cash receipts from farm marketings in Kentucky followed closely
the national pattern (Fig. 3). Changes in direction occurred in some in- ‘
KENTUCKY  UN|TE.D STATES
(MILLION $1 J `, (BILLION $)
4 ' `
600 ` .0 ‘ 30 A
. `~'
500 I 25
' 1
v
u
400 ,' 20
uumzu surzs N,
a
I
500 { \5 `
1
I
l` •§ I
200 ’ `· \ I: IO
\\ 0,. of
x ,’
\ Jo 5
s
100 \KENTUCKY
0 0
1925 I930 1955 |94O 1945 1950 1955
YEARS A
Fig. 3. · Total Cash Iricome from Farm Marketings, Kentucky and United
States, 1924-54.
6

 dividual years owing to changes in supplies and prices of individual crops
and livestock, but cash receipts from farm marketings in Kentucky main- ’
tained about a steady relationship to national cash receipts over the entire
1924-54 period.
Total net income originating from agriculture in the state also M
changed at about the same rate as for agriculture in the nation as a whole
(Fig. 4). This classification of income includes net income from farm
marketings plus the value of home consumption, changes in inventories,
A government payments, and farm wages. Net incomes did not increase so
‘ sharply as total cash receipts, because of increased costs of production
items. When expressed in constant purchasing power dollars, net income
showed less growth over the past 30 years (Fig. 4). The peak in net agri-
KENTUCKY   UNITED sTATcs
$ MIL. $ s11..
600 KENTUCK’I\ 25
x' .
500 ° • ‘
-’ ‘-/·. ·. “’
J \• ‘
4¤¤ ‘°".!‘é?“J;23°.§2$'§§1°"A I ',»· _ /._ `·· ·¤ y
` \ I \ l "`UNITED STATES V \·/
• ‘ .
2100 · I \,____/ IO
`\ · X .AJ     ‘•`—,../
• / h` nn-,
200 ` vn`.} 5
0 0
1929 1994 1999 1944 1949 |954
_ YEARS
* FARM INGOIIE DEFLATED BY INDEX OF WHOLESALE PRICES OF ALL CGIHODITIES
Fig. 4. · Total Net Farm Income, Kentucky and United States, and Purchas-
ing Power of Kentucky Farm Income, 1929-54.
cultural income in Kentucky was reached in 1948 when net farm income was
487 million dollars. When expressed in terms of purchasing power, based
on wholesale prices prevailing during 1947-49, the peak was reached in 1945.
7

 Per—capita income is much less in agriculture than in the nonagricultural
segment of the Kentucky economy. Over the period 1929-54, annual agri- ·
cultural net income averaged 241 dollars per person on farms while the
nonagricultural income of the state averaged 856 dollars per capita —- a
difference of 615 dollars per person. During 1950-54 the spread was even
greater. Net farm income per capita averaged 402 dollars while nonfarm
income in the state averaged 1, 557 dollars per person or l, 155 dollars 1
higher on a per capita basis (Fig. 5) l
Income on a per farm basis increased relatively more than total agri-
cultural income during 1929-54, owing to a decline in farm numbers in ,
Kentucky during this period. Income per farm increased at about the same
rate as per-capita farm income because farm population and farm numbers 1 1
decreased by about the same proportion during the period studied.
I
8

 Although farm income in Kentucky increased during the past 30
years, the increase in Kentucky's nonagricultural income was much
greater —- the gap between farm and non-farm income widened (Fig. 5). I
$ MIL.
3,000
TOTAL STATE INCOME\
2,000 -
|,O0O .
. ' I
NONAGRICULTURAL INCOM
 
0
I930 I935 I94O I945 |95O I955
YEARS
DOLLARS A
.0 .
2,000 ·{
~ FARM INCOME PER FARM\ 0/
¤,s0o _/
O
I,OO0 •!
\• O PER CAPITA
500 \ / \NONFARM INCOME
•
 
PER CAPITA FARM INCOME
O
I930 I935 I940 I945 I950 I955
YEARS
Fig. 5. — Kentucky Income, Agricultural and Nonagricultural, Total, Per
Capita, and Per Farm, 1929-54.
9

 Seasonality of Farm Income
A large part of the cash income to Kentucky farmers is in Decem-
ber and January -- the months when the bulk of the tobacco crop is mar- 4
keted (Fig. 6). Nationally, cash receipts are highest from August to Jan-
uary but do not vary so widely from month to month as Kentucky income.
S mu,.
KENTUCKY A
l50
\
g I954
I
IOO `/
I
_ I
50 I
nss0—s: --__ _,-I
/
na ’- - ,
0
J F M A M J J A S 0 N D
. MONTHS
Q mt.
UNITED STATES
spoo ,*`
\
•. `
\
5,000 \
\
I \
` I
2 500 I950·53 . I
l \ I
\ { \
\ ’ nasa
,J
` 2,000 * ¤_ _ • *
O  
J F M A M J J A S 0 N D
MONTHS
Fig. 6. — Cash Receipts from Farm Marketings by Months, Kentucky
and United States, 1950-53 and 1954. `
10

 The variation between the monthly pattern of the farm income in I
Kentucky and the United States is chiefly in income from crops (Fig. 7).
Income from the sales of livestock and livestock products shows about the
same seasonal pattern for Kentucky as for the nation. Most of the crop
income in Kentucky is from tobacco sales in December and January, while -
September, October, and November are the high months for the United
States.
I $ M11. 3 1011..
cn01>s, xanrucxv LIVESTOCK, xawrucxv
ISO ' 30 nsso-ss`
0
|954\'
I ,»• ,"s
. " Y—•J "`
· 0 ," ’ I954 \
IOO ' 20 I ` '
\ ' ` s ·
` · 0
‘ 0
\ 0
50 \ 0 I0
\
\
\ 1950-sa I
0 ··· "" 0 '
JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND ·
MONTHS MONTHS
$ 1111x.. 5 NIL.
cnops, uunzu smrzs I BOO LIVESTOCK, UNITED swrzs
2,000 ’
. I
0
0
, 1sso-as
0 \
1,000 ,' \ '·6°°
0
r"\
0 II \
\ - ~ \
` 1ss0 sé I ` I " la I ‘
I OOO 0 I' 1,400 " I' x ,/ ¤
, ` ,41954 ` I x , »
‘ 1 1 \ ,’\1ss4 \
x , x I
x ‘,,
\
, \. * 1,200
500
0 0 
JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND
MONTHS MONTHS
Fig. 7. — Monthly Cash Receipts from Farm Marketings from Crops and
Livestock, Kentucky and United States, 1950-53 and 1954.
11

 Changes and Variability of Farm Income by Enterprises
Figures 8 and 9 show cash receipts from farm marketings in Ken- l t
tucky in somewhat more detail. (Tables l and Z showed these data in per-
centages.) These charts bring out changes in particular livestock and
crop enterprises that have occurred during the past 30 years, The largest
income increases for livestock enterprises were from cattle and calvesn
Dairy income followed cattle and calves in increase during 1924-54., In-
come from sheep and lambs increased only slightly over the periodo On
the average, income from livestock showed less year —to-year variability
than income from crops.
Income from tobacco increased more than for any other cropu In-
come from the salc of corn increased sharply during 1945 but decreased
since 1949. Income from most other crops rose during this period, but _
_ these are relatively unimportant as income sources on a state basis., _
Cattle and calves contributed more to farm income than any other
livestock enterprise in 20 of the years between 1929 and 1954, In 10 other
years cattle and calves ranked second or third in terms of livestock in-
come (Table 3)., Income from cattle and calves averaged 47 million dol- A
Table 3H —- Rank of Livestock and Livestock Products According to Income
and Variation of Income, Kentucky, 1924-1954.
 
Years Years Years Average Variation 1/
Enterprise Highest Second Third Income of Income-
(number) (number) (number) (Mill, $) (percent)
Cattle and calves 2.0 3 7 46, 7 18. 8
Dairy 7 18 5 34v 1 8. 8
Poultry 3 5 6 25,,1 ZOOO
Hogs 1 5 13 29d 0 22. 8
Sheep and lambs 0 0 0 9, 4 15, 0
Total 31 31 31 - —
 
1/ Average percentage by which income changes from one year to anotherg
This variation was computed after adjusting each of the livestock enter-
prises for trenct The variation in income represents price changes, changes
in niarketings resulting from changes in livestock numbers, marketing
weights, proportions of livestock products marketed, and changes in inven-
tories.
12.

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14

 lars per year between 1924 and 1954. While the income from cattle and ,
calves averaged higher than other livestock enterprises, year-to-year
income from this source was more variable than income from dairying
and sheep and lambs, but varied less than income from hogs and poultry.l/
Dairying was the second highest income producing livestock enter-
prise during 1924-54, averaging 34 million dollars per year. Dairy in-
come led all livestock enterprises in 7 years, was second 18 years, and
ranked third in 5 of the years. In addition to supply ing a relatively large
part of the total livestock income, the year-to-year income from dairy-
ing was the most stable livestock enterprise in terms of income. Income
from dairying varied less from one year to the next than any other live-
stock enterprise in Kentucky.
Income from hogs followed cattle and calves and dairying in impor-
tance, averaging 29 million dollars per year from 1924 to 1954. Income
from hogs had more average year-to—year variability than any other of ,
the livestock enterprises in the state.
Cash income from poultry and poultry products averaged 25 million
dollars per year from 1924 to 1954. Poultry was the leading income-pro-
ducing livestock enterprise in 3 years; 1924, 1925, and 1926; was second
in 5 of the years; and ranked third in 6 other years (Table 3). Income
from poultry was more variable from one year to another than income
from cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, and dairying but varied slightly A
less than income from hogs.
Table 4. - Rank of Crops According to Income and Variation in Income,
Kentucky, 1924-1954
Years Years Years Average Variation  
Crop Highest Second Third Income of Income"·‘
(number) (number) (number)(Mill, $) (percent)
Tobacco 31 O O 107., 3 22. O l
Corn O 14 5 8. 3 34. 9
Truck and potatoes 0 13 8 5. O 27., O
Forest products 0 0 15 4.;9 16.0
Wheat 0 4 3 4. 6 45,, 8
Hay O O O 3.,0 31., 6
Fruit O O 0 3., O 32. 1
Total 31 31 3 1 - -
*Average percentage by which income changes from one year to another.
This variation was computed after adjusting for trends in income for each
of the crops. The variation in income represents price changes, acreage
and yield changes, and for feed crops, changes in the proportions of the
crops marketed.
1/ Income variation in this section refers to income variation after ad-
justment for trends.
15

 Sheep and lambs contributed a relatively small part of the total
livestock income in Kentucky and averaged 9 1/2 million dollars per
year over the period 1924-54. Income from sheep and lambs ranks
second to dairying in stability, showing less year-to—year variation than -
income from hogs, poultry, and cattle and calves. ·
Tobacco income was the highest of the crop incomes in every year
and averaged 107 million dollars annually from 1924 to 1954 (Table 4.)
Income from tobacco was one of the most stable of the crop incomes from
one year to the next. Only income from forest products had less average ‘
yearly change than tobacco during 1924-54. I
Corn was the second highest income—producing crop from 192.4 to
1954 but averaged only 8 million dollars per year. This crop ranked
second to tobacco in 14 years and was the third highest income—produc-
ing crop in 5 other years. Income from corn varied more than any other
crop except wheat. Since farmers can either feed or sell corn, year-to-
year income from sales of this crop would be expected to show consider- V
able variation.
Following tobacco and corn, the most important crops from the
standpoint of income produced in order of importance were; truck crops V
and potatoes, forest products, wheat, hay and fruit. Income from all i
these crops with the exception of forest products, showed considerably
more year-to-year variation than tobacco.
16