USDA
March Farm Prices Received Index Increased 0.3 Percent
The March Prices Received Index (Agricultural Production), at 92.8, increased 0.3 percent from February. At 83.0, the Crop Production Index decreased 1.4 percent. At 100.2, the Livestock Production Index increased 1.0 percent.
Producers received higher prices for cattle, broilers, and dry beans but lower prices for strawberries, milk, and eggs. Compared to a year earlier, the Prices Received Index decreased 9.1 percent and the Crop Production Index is down 2.9 percent. The Livestock Production Index increased 15 percent from March 2015. In addition to prices, the indexes are influenced by the monthly mix of commodities producers market. Increased monthly movement of cattle, strawberries, calves, and milk offset the decreased marketing of cotton, soybeans, apples, and hay. The Food Commodities Index, at 97.3, is unchanged from the previous month but down 12 percent from March 2015.
March Prices Paid Index Up 0.2 Percent
The March index of Prices Paid for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates (PPITW), at 107.1, is up 0.2 percent from February 2016 but down 3.9 percent from March 2015. Higher prices in March for feeder cattle, LP gas, diesel, and feeder pigs more than offset lower prices for field crop seeds, mixed fertilizer, supplements, and self-propelled machinery.
Prices Received, Prices Paid, and Ratio of Prices Received to Prices Paid Indexes 2011 Base – United States: March 2016 with Comparisons
