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.
Lewis Williamson with HTS Commodities joined us to discuss the latest crop progress report and how market uncertainty and input costs are shaping planting decisions this spring.
April 21, 2026 12:00 PM
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The Farm Monitor says Georgia farmers highlighted profitability and labor challenges during a Farm Bureau event with USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden.
April 20, 2026 02:51 PM
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Oklahoma livestock economist Dr. Derrell Peel helps us break down the April Cattle-on-Feed report and what it signals for herd rebuilding, supplies and prices moving forward.
April 20, 2026 12:36 PM
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Tariff refunds are underway, potentially returning billions to importers, as agriculture groups push for a larger role in trade policy and investigations.
April 20, 2026 12:14 PM
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Hemp growth is driven by floral demand, with mixed returns elsewhere.
April 20, 2026 10:10 AM
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Tight supply and logistics issues may raise input costs.
April 20, 2026 08:00 AM
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