Farmers Get Biggest Subsidy Check in Decade as Prices Drop
- Payment may be most since 2006 as income slides to 14-year low
- Price of corn, biggest crop, may decide fate of future payouts
Non-GMO corn is harvested with a John Deere & Co. 9670 STS combine harvester in this aerial photograph taken above Malden, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. Corn exports by the U.S., the biggest producer, are running 28 percent behind last year's pace as a stronger dollar entices buyers to go elsewhere for cheaper supply.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThe agriculture slump is getting so bad in the U.S. that farmers are about to get more government aid than at any time in the past decade, signaling the rising public cost of crop surpluses and cheap food.
About $13.9 billion of net farm income this year will be federal payments, or about 25 percent of total profit estimated at $54.8 billion, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s the biggest payout and highest ratio since 2006, as programs authorized by Congress two years ago cost more than originally forecast.