Ag Facts

• Total, noncapital living expenses for Illinois farm families rose an average 2.9 percent between 2001 and 2002 and are up 4.5 percent since 2000, according to a University of Illinois Extension study.
• “The total, noncapital living expenses of 1,216 farm families enrolled in the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) Association averaged $44,475—or $3,706 a month for each family,” said Dale Lattz, U of I Extension farm management specialist. “The sample farms, which were mainly grain farms, were located primarily in central and northern Illinois.”

(SOURCE: Dale Lattz (217) 333-0754, The complete report is available online at: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu /manage/newsletters/fefo03_09/fefo03_09.html, Bob Sampson, Extension Communications Specialist)

Shopping Locally at Farmers Markets

The number of Farmer Markets has increased by 80 percent in the last decade with nearly 3,200 markets in towns across the nation in 2002 (SOURCE: http://www.ams. usda.gov /farmersmarkets)