Hoosier farmers are focusing more of their time on making Indiana a corn and soybean state. As livestock herds continue to diminish in size, producers are becoming more dependent on grain yield, price and government payments for income, he says. Indiana had 15.5 million acres of farmland last year, of which 12.8 million acres was cropland. There were 64,000 farms scattered over the state, averaging 242 acres each. That has been good news for farmers.
Producers are able to finance production loans and take on more acres.
If farmland values fall, that will be trouble. Last year, Indiana was fourth in the United States for soybean production and fifth in corn production. The state continues to be a strong hog producer as well, ranking fifth in the nation. But Gann says the hog industry may face challenges near year's end if expected winter farrowings occur in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture has implemented a monthly farrowing and breeding report to monitor signs of expansion and help prevent a collapse in the market.