Prices are up across the board for agricultural commodities, and when farmers are asked about it, most have a similar answer: "It's about time."

After years of exploding input costs, growers are happy to recoup past losses and make investments to improve efficiencies for the future.

The Wall Street Journal chronicled the upward mobility of farm prices with a front-page article on Oct. 12. Such high-profile coverage normally sends shivers down the spines of farmers considering the Wall Street Journal editorial board's normal anti-farm-policy bent. But not this time.

"Growers' improved lot is rippling out to other industries," the Journal found, noting that the higher commodity prices, in addition to helping stimulate the economy, will drive down taxpayer cost for the farm safety net.

The article also pointed to agriculture as being a beacon of hope on the trade front, and explained that higher farm prices are unlikely to lead to bigger grocery bills. That's because food companies that increased food prices in 2008 never lowered them as commodity prices dropped in 2009, so price tags have already been adjusted.

In other words, agriculture is helping drive the country's economy at the most critical time.

Among the farm goods seeing higher than normal prices: cotton, wheat, dairy, pork, beef, soybeans, corn, and sugar. And that's only strengthened America's overall financial situation.

Jack Roney, an economist with the American Sugar Alliance, says this is largely due to the huge number of jobs tied to farming.

"There are about 11,000 sugar farmers in the country, and 146,000 Americans are employed because of the industry," he said. "In addition to jobs on sugar farms and in sugar factories, you've got tractor dealers selling sugar equipment and people shipping sugar across the country. And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

Add the other crops in and you're staring at 21 million American jobs—five times larger than the automotive manufacturing, sales, and service sectors combined. And all of those jobs are tied in some way to the prices farmers receive for their crops.

The economic impact rippling out of the higher farm prices might be even more impressive.

This year alone, farmers and ranchers will produce $332 billion worth of goods after they have spent $187 billion to purchase inputs, made $62 billion in rent payments, paid $26.2 billion in wages to employees, and spent $14 billion in interest and financing.

To put that into perspective, U.S. ag related sales alone are larger than the GDPs of Greece, Denmark, South Africa, or Argentina.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) made a similar observation at an Oct. 16 rally in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota.

"There's one thing about farmers: When they make money, they generally spend it," the local newspaper quoted Peterson saying. That, he says, is why the Valley hasn't caught the nation's economic flu.

But Roney warns against counting on these improved prices for too long.

"Agriculture is the most volatile profession anyone can choose. You are always at the mercy of Mother Nature, unpredictable markets, and foreign governments that can quickly alter the playing field with trade distorting policies," he said.

In sugar's case, Roney said the past year of strong prices was preceded by two decades of prices so low that it was forcing many people out of the sugar business.

"We've lost 53 sugar factories since 1985 largely because of the squeeze created by low farmer prices and growing input costs," Roney explained. "Things can turn for the worse just as quickly as they improved."

Farmers and the industries they underpin will enjoy the good times as long as they can. And from the looks of it, America will be in a much better financial situation the longer they celebrate.