Farm production expenditures reached a record-high $318.7 billion in 2011, a 10.2 percent increase over 2010, according to the Farm Production Expenditures 2011 summary released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Average expenditures per farm were $146,653 in 2011, an increase of 11.3 percent over 2010. According to the report, here’s what nearly half of that was spent on:

* Feed  — $25,129 (an increase of 21.4 percent from 2010)

* Farm services — $17,075

* Livestock, poultry and related expenses — $13,163 (up 18.3 percent)

* Labor  —$12,334 (a slight decline from 2010; the only other category to show a decline was "interest")

Nearly a third of all 2011 farm production expenditures occurred in the Midwest region, where farmers reported spending a total of $98.7 billion. That region includes Missouri and Iowa. The next highest expenditure level, at $73.8 billion, was in the Plains, a region that includes Kansas and Nebraska.

As for the state breakdown, Iowa trailed only California in total farm expenditures ($24.2 billion vs. $31.2 billion).

The USDA report also compared expenditures for livestock vs. crop operation (average per-farm $148,480 vs. $170,170).