United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-06-15 monographic deposited born digital 42 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-606 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606 P0b002ee180374eb6 f:d01606 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606 GAO-01-606 Disaster relief aid Farm subsidies Federal aid programs Loans USDA Agricultural Resource Management Study Other Written Product A01034 Payments to farmers under federal farm programs have reached an historic high--more than $20 billion in fiscal year 2000. Nearly one-half of U.S. farms are receiving payments for income or price support purposes and for activities such as land conservation. These payments made up almost one-half of net farm income in fiscal year 2000. Despite the annual influx of billions of federal dollars to the farm sector, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the number of farms has been declining about one percent per year, with the most notable declines occuring in small family farms and young farmers. GAO reviewed USDA's annual surveys of U.S. farm operations--called the Agricultural Resource Management Study--and state and crop information from its Program Payments Reporting System to (1) determine the distribution of farm payments over the past decade by farm size, operators' age, state, and crop and (2) identify the major barriers that make it difficult for young people to enter farming. GAO found that in recent years, more than 80 percent of farm payments have been made to large- and medium-sized farms, while small farms have received less than 20 percent of the payments. Even though small farms substantially outnumber medium and large farms, the average payment to small farms was much less than the average payment to medium and large farms because payments are generally based on volume of production. The distribution pattern for 1999 was similar to that of the other years over the past decade, but the portion of the payments that has gone to large farms has increased and the portion to small farms has decreased during the period since 1996. Farmers under age 35 received about 6 percent of farm payments, while farmers ages 35 through 54 received 56 percent of the payments. Farm payments are principally directed at producers of eight major crops: wheat, corn, barley, oats, sorghum, rice, cotton, and oilseeds. All states received a portion of payments, but six states--Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota--together received almost half of the payments in 1999. The major obstacle facing young people who wish to enter farming is the high cost of acquiring the needed assets, principally farmland and farm machinery. Although farm program payments can help beginning farmers once they have started farming, the payments can also present a hurdle because their value is reflected in a higher price to buy or lease the farmland. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606.pdf GAO-01-606 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-606 Other Written Product GAO-01-606; Farm Programs: Information on Recipients of Federal Payments; Disaster relief aid Farm subsidies Federal aid programs Loans USDA Agricultural Resource Management Study Public Law 101-624