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.
USDA Cattle-on-Feed report shows slightly lower inventory and higher February placements, signaling a tighter supply but steady outlook for the U.S. cattle herd.
March 20, 2026 03:30 PM
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Ranchers have a lot going on at the moment, but some ‘friendly’ news could be coming with this month’s Cattle-on-Feed Report from the USDA.
March 20, 2026 12:32 PM
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The ag trade deficit is narrowing, but export competition remains strong.
March 20, 2026 06:00 AM
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Higher prices are bringing relief to markets, but rising input costs are putting pressure on the producers.
March 19, 2026 12:59 PM
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Lower hop stocks may support prices in the near term.
March 19, 2026 06:00 AM
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Bryan Combs with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service breaks down new farmland data from the TOTAL survey, highlights key findings, and potential impacts for the ag sector. ASFMRA’s David Klein also shares how those trends are reflected in the current farmland market, especially in the Midwest.
March 18, 2026 04:55 PM
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