The most recent agriculture Census defines total farm production expenses as “expenses provided by producers, partners, landlords (excluding property taxes), and production contractors for the farm business” (USDA/NASS, 2024). Based on Census data from 2017 to 2022, all southern states experienced higher overall production expenses (Table 1 in descending order based on change from 2017 to 2022). For 2017 to 2022, the top three states with the highest increases in production expenses were Louisiana (44.4% increase), Alabama (39.5%), and North Carolina (38.5%). The lowest were Oklahoma (15.35 increase), Texas (21.7%), and Virginia (21.6%). For the twenty-year timeframe 2002 to 2022, Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina had the largest production expense increases (yellow highlight), whereas Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas had the lowest (blue highlight). [READ MORE]
