The 8.3 percent increase in agriculture production from 2013 to 2014 is the largest since 2008.  Last year U.S. farmers spent $397.6 billion on agricultural production, according to the Farm Production Expenditures as reported by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Feed, already the largest expenditure category for U.S. farmers, also saw the largest increase since 2013. In 2014, producers spent $63.7 billion on animal feed, up 16 percent from the previous year. Farm services, livestock, poultry and related expenses, and labor were the other three major categories that saw an increase of 11.4 percent, 11.3 percent, and 8.6 percent respectively.

Per farm, the average expenditures total $191,500 compared with $175,270 in 2013, up 9.3 percent. As in the previous year, crop farms account for the majority of production expenditures in 2014, although the gap between two sectors was significantly smaller than in the previous years. The average expenditure per crop farm totals $213,150 compared to $173,285 per livestock farm.

The plains region saw the largest increase in expenditures.  You can view the entire summary online.