Graphic of the Week
GRAPHIC: For family farms, most income comes from far afield
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Almost all farm households in 2019 derived some income from off-farm sources, such as pensions, investment income, or wages and salary from an off-farm job.
Graphic of the Week
GRAPHIC: Big commercial farms got 10x more government assistance than family farms
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The federal government subsidized commercial farms much more than family farms in 2019, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture figures.
In 2019, commercial farms, which means they gross more than $350,000 annually, received an average of about $85,000 from the government. On the other hand are residence farms that have less income; the owner is either retired or makes a living working another job besides farming. These farms received an average of about $8,000, according to the USDA. After the Trump administration started its trade wars, it paid billions to farmers. The payments propped up farmers’ income at a time when many were hurting financially, according to a report from the University of Illinois’ Farmdoc Daily.
coronavirus
SURVEY: We asked farmers how they’re dealing with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what they said.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened some farmers' stress. A few shared how they're managing it.
#agalerts
#AgAlerts: Sugar shortage; small farmers; wheat’s falling numbers
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The closing days of 2019 find small farms pummeled from every side: a trade war, severe weather associated with climate change, tanking commodity prices related to globalization and political polarization. It is the worst crisis in decades.