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.
“I’m not sure where this bridge goes,” trader Brady Huck with Advanced Trading told RFD-TV News earlier this week.
December 12, 2025 03:32 PM
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USDA data confirms that U.S. agriculture remains overwhelmingly family-run despite structural shifts in scale and production, according to a new analystis by Farm Flavor.
December 11, 2025 06:00 PM
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Rising beef supplies and lower cattle prices, weaker hog markets, and softening dairy prices will shape producer margins heading into 2026.
December 11, 2025 01:32 PM
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Experts say flooding the zone with more money could have unintented consequences without opening new markets for planted crops and inputs under significant pressure.
December 11, 2025 12:25 PM
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December 11, 2025 10:49 AM
Outdated reporting thresholds reduce cash-market visibility and increase the urgency of comprehensive Mandatory Price Reporting reform.
December 10, 2025 07:00 PM
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