New tax law marks $60 billion for farm subsidies, but little of it is expected to reach smaller farming operations

New farm subsidy money won't reach many smaller
farmers. (Adobe Stock photo)

While the new tax bill sets aside $60 billion in farm subsidies, how the money is divided is just as crucial for farmers who need assistance. Some experts worry that uneven subsidy distribution "could worsen disparities between farms in an industry already struggling with consolidation," reports Linda Qiu of The New York Times. Who gets what depends on what crops are grown. "Large farms, particularly those in the South, [are] poised to reap the most benefits."

In Gaines County, Texas, 600 farms are set to receive "an additional $258 million in government payments over the next decade," Qiu writes. "Along the coast of California, 1,000 farms in Monterey County will collectively receive just $390,000 in additional payments, according to one analysis."

Smaller farms are unlikely to get the help they need to fend off harm from volatile markets and increasingly high input and labor costs. Qiu reports, "Owners of smaller farms and independent producers who grow fresh fruits and vegetables or raise livestock have expressed concern that the distribution of funding will only deepen the consolidation of an industry that has lost over 300,000 farms in the past two decades."

The largest chunk of subsidy funding "will go toward increasing payments to farmers enrolled in price and revenue support programs covering 22 commodity crops, or major crops like corn and soybeans," Qui adds. "Farmers of those crops, which are concentrated in the South, are expected to see the biggest benefits." For many of those farmers, the additional income will provide support in difficult times and prevent farm bankruptcies.

But for other farmers, the bill lends no such cushion, and many believe the subsidies are a handout for large agricultural operations. Qui reports, "The National Family Farm Coalition, which supports smaller farms, warned that the law was short-sighted, unnecessarily favoring large corporations."

Vincent H. Smith, an agricultural economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, told Qiu, "“The monies are not flowing to small- and medium-sized family farms. They’re flowing overwhelmingly to the largest producers.”