The results were so good because virtually everything was pretty good. The yields in southern Minnesota were outstanding, hog farms were very profitable, and dairy farms had a pretty good year. We had that perfect storm.

Fertilizer costs are up big-time, and fuel costs went from $13,000 to $19,000 (for an average farm), and that's a huge increase. The concern is, what happens if we don't get that bumper crop next year? It's not likely that livestock is going to continue to be as profitable as it was last year.

We need another bumper yield like we had last year or this is going to be a very difficult year to make ends meet.

Right now, the farm sector in Minnesota seems to be extremely healthy and growing, Most producers are in better shape to handle a downturn now than they may have been in the past.