Big drop in farm income forecast as pandemic aid ends
After reaching its highest level since 2013, U.S. net farm income would tumble by one-fifth next year, despite continued high crop and livestock revenue, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute on Tuesday. "Under current policies, farm income could drop again in 2022, as government payments decline and production expenses continue to rise," the think tank said.
Huge federal payments will make up 36 percent of farm income this year
The government will send a record $32.8 billion in direct payments to farmers this year but the economic slowdown triggered by the coronavirus still will pull down farm income by 3 percent, said the FAPRI think tank at the University of Missouri on Tuesday. Federal supports would amount to 36 …
Some farmers received USDA payments every year for 32 years
Nearly 28,000 farmers received crop subsidy or agricultural disaster payments every year for 32 years, said the Environmental Working Group in a report released today. The payments, from 1985-2016, averaged $687,204 per person annually and totaled at least $19.2 billion, according to EWG's analysis of USDA data.