Farmers May See Dip In Income, But Experts Say There Are Reasons To Be Optimistic

Mar 24, 2021

By Seth Bodine

Farmers might make less money this year due to less assistance from the government and increased production costs.

Farm income is estimated to be $112 billion in 2021 — $9 billion less than last year.

In 2020, farmers and ranchers made a total of $121 billion, the highest amount since 2013. Government subsidies account for $46 billion, according to a report from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.

China also played a big part in increased incomes. Patrick Westhoff, director of the institute, says there has been an increase in demand in crops like soybeans after African swine fever devastated the Chinese pork industry.

“They've been trying to rebuild. To do so, of course, you need feed for those livestock,” Westhoff says. “They’re trying to change the way they feed livestock without using kitchen scraps and things like that as much as they used to, but instead rely on corn and soybean meal.”

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.