AGRICULTURE: The Wealthy Farmer

What is the American farmer actually worth?

Presenting its annual resumé, the Department of Agriculture last week had some startling figures that might put all the worryabout fluctuating farm prices and immediate income in clearer perspective. The U.S. farmer is a rich man. Between Jan. 1, 1956 and Jan. 1, 1957, total agricultural equities (all assets minus all liabilities) rose by $8 billion to an all-time high of $157.3 billion. In every single category, farmers increased their net worth. Livestock values rose almost 5%, machinery 3%, household goods more than 4%. Even farmers’ cash deposits, bond holdings and other investments grew bigger, in some categories as little as 0.6%, in others as much as 6%. The biggest gain was in the farmer’s biggest asset: his land, whose value last year jumped $6.8 billion to a record $109.5 billion.

Speculating on the reasons for the great rise in land values, the report noted inflation and the fact that nowadays it takes more and more land for an efficient unit, which forces farmers themselves to bid up prices. It also added some new factors: increased urbanization and the dispersal of industry, which have diverted millions of acres of farmland for new highways, plants, shopping centers and other nonfarming projects. All combine, said the Agriculture Department, to “create a strong market for farmland”—and they give U.S. farmers solid ground to stand on, whatever the ups and downs.