The Census of Agriculture provides a wealth of data on the state of the industry. Economists with NASS recently took a look at farm topology, peeling back the layers of each operation.
“The farm topology sort of slices this up by looking at what’s called the gross cash farm income. Under value production, that farm produces many, many dollars in value production. But the part that comes back to the farmer is just the fee he receives. Cash farm income and the farm topology just count the part that the farmer gets for his fee. Value production counts everything that came off the farm,” said Joseph Parsons.
Economists uncovered that producers on small farms tend to be new to the profession and have served in the military, and they also likely rely on off-farm work to get by. They also discovered that farming has become a retirement plan, with many new small farmers over the age of 65.
A strong corn export pull is supportive of bids; soybeans need steady vessel programs or fresh sales to firm cash.
November 04, 2025 10:47 AM
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USDA will meet part of November SNAP benefits under court direction, citing insufficient funds for full payments.
November 04, 2025 10:20 AM
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An import lag for ground beef will likely look different than last year’s egg shortage. The difference comes down to biosecurity and market flexibility.
November 03, 2025 12:07 PM
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The WASDE/Crop Production combo will be the first full read on supply, demand, and yield that could move basis and hedging plans since the government shutdown more than a month ago.
November 03, 2025 09:34 AM
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China’s grain expansion model may be hitting its limit. Lower prices, high rents, and policy fatigue threaten future output — with ripple effects across global feed and oilseed markets.
November 02, 2025 05:06 AM
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U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) shares his outlook on the developing U.S.-China Trade agreement, and the ongoing impact of the federal government shutdown—now stretching past four weeks—on rural communities and producers.
October 31, 2025 01:35 PM
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