Balance Sheet of the Farming Sector, 1978

Farm assets were valued at $709 billion on January 1,1978, and outstanding debt was $120 billion, leaving farm proprietors an equity of $589 billion. These amounts compare with assets of $655 billion, a debt of $103 billion, and an equity of $552 billion at the beginning of 1977. During 1977, farm real estate values increased $42 billion (9 percent) over the January 1, 1977, estimate of $484 billion. Farm real estate value has been revised downward for the years 1970-77, based on final data from the 1974 Census of Agriculture. Livestock and poultry were valued at $32 billion on January 1, 1978, 10 percent above the value of a year earlier. Machinery and motor vehicles were valued at $77 billion, a 7-percent increase from the beginning of 1977. The value of crops stored was an estimated $25 billion, up 12 percent from a year earlier. The value of household equipment and furnishings rose only slightly to $15 billion. Financial assets rose about 5 percent to total an estimated $35 billion. Farm debt rose at a faster rate last year than during 1976. On January 1,1978, farm real estate debt outstanding was $64 billion and nonreal estate debt, excluding CCC (Commodity Credit Corporation) loans, was $51 billion. CCC loans increased from $1.0 billion on January 1, 1977, to a record high $4.5 billion on January 1, 1978. Balance sheets by value of sales class, capital gains on physical assets, farm production assets, and rates of return on equity were reconstructed to reflect revisions in the balance sheet estimates. Balance sheets for each of the 50 States are included for the first time.