
By Julie Tomascik
Roll the dice. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.
Farming and ranching is a gamble. Every year. And 2016 has been a mixed deck at best.
It flooded. Then the rain shut off. Drought now steadily creeps back in.
Anti-agriculture crowds continue to attack farmers and ranchers, while regulations are piled on. Increased costs for inspections, fees and certifications add to the growing list.
Commodity and livestock prices are down. Net farm income keeps dropping. And it’s forecast to be down 3 percent this year at $54.8 billion, the lowest since 2002.
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