California’s farm income dropped 5% in 1984.

Worse yet, net farm income is expected to decline an additional 8% this year, according to Security Pacific National Bank’s annual agricultural survey. Nonetheless, the bank concluded, California farmers, benefiting from much greater diversification of crops, are expected to continue faring “substantially better” than farmers nationally, whose income is expected to drop 30% this year. Gross cash farm receipts totaled $13.6 billion in California last year, up 1%, the study also reported. Present trends indicate that market prices will remain depressed in 1985, however, while production costs continue to rise at 1984’s pace, the bank’s agriculture analyst said.