Report: Iowa farm income falls $3.3 billion

Iowa farm income fell $3.3 billion during the first quarter compared with a year ago, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

That decline brings farm earnings in Iowa down to about $6.5 billion for the quarter. The drop continues a trend of decreased farm income due to lower corn and soybean prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it expects farm income across the nation to drop about 27 percent in 2014.

Chad Hart, an associate professor of economics at Iowa State University, said this quarter's drop shows how the ag industry is moderating after a period of strong growth during the last few years.

For comparison, Iowa farmers had earnings upwards of $9.7 billion for the first three months of 2013, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Those earnings were about $8.2 billion in the first quarter of 2012, $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2011 and $4.2 billion for the first quarter of 2010.

Farm earnings also fell $1.3 billion from the last quarter of 2013. That contributed to a drop in the state's overall earnings, according to the bureau.

Total earnings across all industry sectors dropped by $467 million in the first three months of the year. While farming and a few other sectors saw decreases, a majority of Iowa's sectors had increased earnings.

Iowa's construction industry, for example, saw earnings increase by $128 million in the first three months of the year. Iowa's professional, scientific and technical services also saw growth of $130 million.

For personal income, Iowa saw almost no growth from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, according to the bureau's report.

Iowa's total personal income grew to $140.2 billion during the first quarter, up 0.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013. That change ranked Iowa 46th for personal income growth quarter-over-quarter.