Need for off-farm incomes grows

From trucking to teaching, seed or chemical sales, off-farm jobs are nothing new for many agriculture operations. The need for supplemental income seems to be increasing, according to the latest data.

In a December 2022 report from the USDA, the mean household income on a farm was $135,281 in 2021, the highest ever recorded. However, more than $100,000 of that was coming from non-farm sources. Based on averages, less than 25% of a farm’s income came from the farm itself.

“In those record-setting years, nearly 50% of our farmers, ranchers and producers lost money,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said during an address at Commodity Classic in March. “Another 40% of those make some money, but the majority of the money they make comes from off-farm income.”