The U.S. Department of Agriculture held its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in late February to discuss the prospects for U.S. agriculture in the near and longer term. For this year, global economic growth is expected to support strong gains in the value of U.S. agricultural exports. Low stocks and strong demand will allow grain producers to benefit from exceptionally high prices. But in spite of these developments, net cash farm income is expected to decline this year to a relatively low level as feed costs rise and gains in production cause livestock and poultry prices to weaken. A decline in direct government payments is also expected to help reduce farm income from last year.