Measured on a per-acre basis, capital purchases, such as machinery and buildings, by grain farmers have more than tripled, says economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois, who warns farmers will have to tighten their belts. “Not reducing capital purchases by enough could result in financial stress in future years,” he writes at farmdoc daily. Lower commodity prices are expected to bring lower farm income equivalent to 2000-05, Schnitkey says, “suggesting that capital purchases should also decrease to 2000-05 levels. A decrease of this magnitude would mean that capital purchases decrease from the mid-$100 levels seen in 2010 through 2013 back to around $40 to $50 per tillable acre.”