College of Agriculture > Ag Communications & Marketing > 2000 News Releases

Alabama's Farm and Forestry Industry Income Sources Undergo Dramatic Change Over 20-Year Period

AUBURN, Ala.—Farm income in Alabama has soared 125 percent over the past two decades, from $2.1 billion in 1978 to $4.7 billion today.

As participants in a recent Agricultural Development Roundtable at Auburn University learned, however, the sources from which that income was derived then versus now have changed dramatically, with traditional row-crop farming and livestock production losing major ground to the state's booming poultry and forestry industries.

Twenty years ago, poultry accounted for 28 percent of the state's total farm income, followed by the cattle industry at 20 percent, soybeans at 13 percent and forestry at 10 percent.

Today, poultry still leads the way, but, according to Alabama Agricultural Statistics Service figures, its share of total farm income has jumped to an impressive 43 percent. Timber, which ranked fourth in 1978, now accounts for 22 percent of total farm and forestry receipts.

Income from cattle and soybeans, meanwhile, has plunged during the last two decades. The beef cattle industry -- which, at 20 percent, was the second biggest contributor to total farm income in 1978 -- dropped to a low eight percent in 1998. Soybeans have fallen from 13 percent of farm cash receipts two decades ago to a mere 1 percent.

Also during the 20-year period, dairy declined from three percent of farm cash receipts to one percent; peanuts, from six percent to three percent; and hogs, from five percent to one percent. Cotton remained steady at 4 percent, as did fruit/nut/vegetable production, at one percent.

The "other" category, which includes alternative crops and livestock, has increased, from four percent in 1978 to 11 percent. The state's catfish industry has risen slightly, to a full one percent.

In other 20-year statistics, the impact of urbanization on Alabama's rural landscape is evident. Since 1978, farm acreage has declined 33 percent, from 14.4 million to 9.5 million acres. The number of farms has dropped almost 36 percent, to 49,000.

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Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL    36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE)  334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

06/28/00