The Balance Sheet of the Farming Sector, 1972

The value of farm assets (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) amounted to $339.2 billion on January 1, 1972. Debts totaled $66.9 billion, leaving equity of $272.3 billion. The debt-to-asset ratio increased slightly to 19.7 percent. Two-thirds of the $24.3 billion increase in asset value during 1971 was due to a record $15.6-billion increase in the value of farm real estate. Most of the remaining third was due to increases in the value of livestock and machinery and motor vehicles. Farm debt increased a record $5.8 billion. About two-thirds of the increase was in non-real estate debt and the other third was in farm mortgages. Interest charges on farm debt in 1971 totaled $3.9 billion, up $0.2 billion from 1970. Total realized net farm income of farm operators in the 48 contiguous States dropped to $16.0 billion from $16.8 billion in 1970; realized net farm income per farm slipped from $5,740 to $5,560