For every dollar American consumers spend on food, U.S. farmers and ranchers earn just 14.6 cents, according to a report released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
This value for 2017 marks a 17% decline since 2011 and is the smallest portion of the American food dollar farmers have received since USDA began reporting these data in 1993. The remaining 85.4 cents cover off-farm costs, including processing, wholesaling, distribution, marketing and retailing. Read more