Documentation

Methods

The Normalized Prices data product contains three tables. Table 1 reports national average prices for agricultural commodities using a 5-year lagged average. Table 2 presents normalized indices for prices paid and received by farmers using 2011 as a base year. Table 3 reports State-level average prices for agricultural commodities calculated using a 3-year rolling average and the ratio of State to national commodity prices. All tables are generated using data reported by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), which are available through the Quick Stats data portal.

Table 1

Prices reported in table 1 are calculated using a rolling 5-year average of national average commodity prices. The commodities included in table 1 are listed below. The time span defining the rolling average ends 2 years prior to the report year. For example, the national normalized price for rye in the 2024 report, Nat norm price for rye, 2024 report year, is calculated as follows:

2018-21 national price for rye divided by 5

Where 2018-22 national price for rye refers to the national market price of rye in 2018–22 as reported by USDA-NASS.

Table 2

Indices of prices paid and received by farms reported in table 2 are as reported by USDA-NASS in its Agricultural Price Program and use 2011 as a base year (2011=100). The indices included in table 2 are:

Indices for prices received by farmers

  • All farm products
  • All crops
  • All livestock and products

Indices for prices paid by farmers

  • All production items
  • Feed
  • Livestock
  • Seed
  • Fertilizer
  • Agricultural chemicals
  • Fuels and energy
  • Farm and motor supplies
  • Automobiles and trucks
  • Tractors and self-propelled machinery
  • Building and fencing materials
  • Wage rates for hired farm labor

Table 3

State-level normalized commodity prices reported in table 3 are generated by calculating the ratio of the rolling 3-year average State price to the 3-year average national price and scaling this ratio by the national normalized price reported in table 1. The commodities included in table 3 are the same as those included in table 1 (except where State data are not available, as noted) and are listed below. The time span defining the rolling average ends 2 years prior to the report year. For example, a given State's normalized price for rye in the 2024 report State normalized price for rye, 2024 report year is calculated as follows:

2020-22 average State price divided by 2020-22 national price, times the 2024 report year national normalized price for rye

Where State-level prices for rye, 2020-22 refers to the State-level market prices for rye in 2020–22, National-level prices for rye, 2020-22 refers to national market prices for rye in 2020–22, and National normalized price for rye, 2024 report year is the national normalized price for rye as reported in table 1.

Tables 1 and 3 report national and State-level normalized prices (per unit specified) for the following commodities:

  • Wheat, all types (bushels)
  • Rye (bushels)
  • Rice (hundredweight (cwt))
  • Corn for grain (bushels)
  • Oats (bushels)
  • Barley (bushels)
  • Sorghum grain (cwt)
  • Hay, all types, baled (tons)
  • Dry beans, excluding chickpeas (cwt)
  • Sugarbeets (tons)
  • Sugarcane for sugar (tons)
  • Cotton, lint, upland (pounds)
  • Tobacco (pounds)
  • Cottonseed (tons)
  • Soybeans for beans (bushels)
  • Peanuts, for nuts (pounds)
  • Flaxseed (bushels)
  • Apples, all commercial (pounds)
  • Oranges, all types (boxes)
  • Grapefruit, all types (boxes)
  • Potatoes (cwt)
  • Sweet potatoes (cwt)
  • Steers and heifers (cwt) (State data unavailable)
  • Cows for slaughter (cwt) (State data unavailable)
  • Calves (cwt) (State data unavailable)
  • Hogs, barrows and gilts (cwt) (State data unavailable)
  • Hogs, sows (cwt) (State data unavailable)
  • Milk (cwt)
  • Broilers, commercial (pounds) (State data unavailable)
  • Turkeys (pounds) (State data unavailable)
  • Eggs (dozens)
  • Wool (pounds)

Data Sources

All data are compiled and summarized from official statistics released by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service through Quick Stats, accessed on August 9, 2024. Information on NASS' methodology and data quality is available on the USDA, NASS website.

Updates and Revisions

The next update of the normalized price series is expected to contain estimates for 2024. These estimates should appear at the end of September 2025 as an update to this data product.

Beginning in 2019, the NASS dry bean prices were "excluding chickpeas" for the marketing year. Prior to 2019, dry bean prices included chickpeas. Our data series for national and State-level dry beans prices use the prices excluding chickpeas for 2019 and after, and prices including chickpeas for 2018 and before.

Beginning with the 2016 reports, the original national price indices tables (2 and 3) were consolidated into one table (now labeled table 2, national-level price indices with the reference period 2011=100). The original four-table set was reduced to include tables 1-3 (national-level normalized prices received, national-level price indices, and State-level normalized prices received). All subsequent reports follow this format.

In the 2015 ERS report and all subsequent reports, the hog sector was split into two commodities, "Hogs, barrows and gilts" and "Hogs: sows" in Table 1.

In January 2014, NASS updated its base reference period to 2011 (i.e., 2011=100).

In the 2014 ERS report and all subsequent reports, State prices for livestock and poultry are no longer reported by NASS.

Recommended Citation

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Normalized Prices, September 2024.