INTRODUCTION

The information in this booklet was generated from a summary of farm records provided by enrollees in FBMA and MIR cooperators. This is the twentieth year for a summary analysis of records of FBMA enrollees, and the third year for a joint summary of both programs. Data in this summary are limited to those records identified as "clean" (local instructor and farm management specialist indicated the records were accurate and the computer program did not flag errors indicating balance or entry discrepancies).

The following points are highlighted to aid in interpreting the data:

1. Exercise caution in using the data since the number of farms involved is limited. Also, these data are only for those enrolled in FBMA and MIR cooperators and should not be considered representative of the entire farm population in Missouri.

2. A total of 220+ farms took part in the FBMA analysis program this year. Selection criteria (to help insure as uniform a comparison as possible) were used to select the final 131 farms (FBMA and MIR) included in the summary. Many of these farms were included in last year's averages, but not all. Therefore, the data are not directly comparable to previous summary data.

3. All averages in this year's summary are Missouri averages.

4. A number of tables and graphs were developed to show the difference between the top half and bottom half of the farms as compared to the average of all 131 farms. Net farm operating profit was used to identify the average farm. Average total return per tillable acre, average return to management, etc. were then calculated for the farms in the top half and bottom half.

5. Note: With the exception of breeding livestock and depreciable assets, assets are reported at market value.

6. Due to rounding of figures some variance may occur in totals.

Jim Riley, State FBMA Coordinator

Gerry Ehlmann, Extension Associate