Big Farm Raked in Record Profits This Yr. As Farm Land Soars, But They Harvested $10B in Handouts

According to the USDA, net income from U.S. farms is expected to set a new record this year of $103.6 billion on record cash receipts of $370.4 billion.  The record farm income this year is 31% above last year's income, and marks the first time in history that the combined income of U.S. farms has exceeded $100 billion.       

The USDA also estimates that the total value of farm real estate will approach $2 trillion this year, an increase of 7.12% from last year.  Separately, CNN is reporting record farmland prices based on Federal Reserve data, with 25% increases in Midwest farmland (and 31% in Iowa), the largest annual gains in three decades.

Even with record-level income, revenues and farm land values, farmers "harvested" more than $10 billion in direct government (taxpayer) payments (subsidies) this year.  

Whenever oil prices and "Big Oil" profits are high, politicians call for imposing "windfall profits taxes" and ending oil subsidies (even though oil companies don't actually get any direct government payments and only get the same tax deductions and cost recovery allowances that are available to all U.S. manufacturers), so maybe it's time for equal treatment of Big Farm?