Economists with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) examined three groupings (commercial, intermediate, residence) of family farms to find that about 75% of commercial family farms—those with $350,000 or more in gross cash farm income (GCFI)—received government payments.
For intermediate family farms—those with less than $350,000 in GCFI and a principal operator whose primary occupation is farming—31% received government payments.
Finally, government payments went to 29% of residence family farms, defined as those with less than $350,000 in GCFI and where the principal operator is retired from farming or has a primary occupation other than farming. Overall, on average, commercial farms received $66,314, intermediate farms received $12,794 and residence farms received $8,354 in government payments in 2021. — USDA ERS
