Report: Nearly 40 percent of farm income coming from aid, insurance

A new report by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) projects that nearly 40 percent of American farmers’ income will come from either trade aid, disaster assistance, the farm bill or insurance indemnities, Axios reports.

Of the projected $88 billion income, $33 billion will come from the aforementioned subsidies, the AFBF says.

This is notable because farmers will be a vital voting bloc for President Trump in next year’s elections. Farmers, in particular, have felt the strain of China’s retaliatory tariffs.

{mosads}For the 2019 fiscal year, which ended in September, 580 Chapter 12 farm or fishery bankruptcies were filed, which is a 24 percent increase from 2018.

It’s the most bankruptcy filings of that kind since 2011, when 676 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed.

Wisconsin led the way among states with 48 filings. Georgia, Nebraska and Kansas were next, with 37 each. Trump won all four states in 2016.

This said, the AFBF says that 2019’s numbers do not come close to breaking the highs set during the 1980s.

“The support provided to farmers in 2018 and 2019 is expected to alleviate some of the financial stress, however, not all farmers will benefit from trade assistance, farm bill programs, crop insurance or disaster aid,” the AFBF told Axios.

“As a result, it could take some time for the financial relief to manifest in the farm bankruptcy trends.”