USDA ERS · national trends · 1995–2026
Farm program spending trends
How federal farm program spending has shifted over three decades, from commodity supports to conservation and insurance, from USDA ERS Farm Income & Wealth Statistics.
Total government payments, 1995–2026
Total USDA government payments rose from $7.3B in 1995 to $44.3B in 2026, spiking in disaster and pandemic-relief years.
Conservation program spending growth
Conservation spending has grown steadily since the 2002 Farm Bill expanded EQIP and CSP, with a further step-up after the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Net farm income over time
Net farm income reflects total agricultural output minus production expenses - $153.4B in 2026. Government payments cushion income in low-price and disaster years.
The shifting farm safety net
Federal farm program spending has undergone a significant transformation since the 1990s. Direct commodity payments, once the dominant form of farm support, have given way to a more diversified portfolio of risk-management tools, conservation incentives, and insurance subsidies. The breakdowns above are tracked on PlainFarmData's programs page.
A state that received large direct payments in the 2000s may now receive similar total support through crop-insurance subsidies and ARC/PLC payments, but the mechanism and conditions are very different. Understanding these trends is essential for evaluating current farm-policy debates and interpreting state-level payment data.
Commodity programs
Direct payments, fixed per-acre payments to producers of covered commodities regardless of market prices, were a cornerstone of farm support from 1996 until the 2014 Farm Bill eliminated them. They were replaced by ARC and PLC, which are counter-cyclical: they only pay when prices or revenue fall below benchmarks, so commodity-program spending now fluctuates with markets rather than flowing as a predictable annual subsidy.
Crop insurance expansion
The federal crop-insurance program has become the largest single component of farm safety-net spending. Premium subsidies, which cover roughly 60% of farmer-paid premiums on average, now exceed commodity-program payments most years. Indemnity payments are driven by weather events and price movements; PlainFarmData tracks crop-insurance loss ratios by state.
Related guides
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Farm Income and Wealth Statistics USDA Economic Research Service, Farm Income and Wealth Statistics National annual series, fiscal years 1995–2026