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> I did some digging and the farm subsidies in the US are truly eye-watering, and particularly notable is that the biggest 10% of farms take 90% of the subsidy

> I did some digging and the farm subsidies in the US are truly eye-watering, and particularly notable is that the biggest 10% of farms take 90% of the subsidy Well, yeah. The 90th percentile farm makes $7665 in farm income per year [1] so how much subsidies could they possibly absorb? "Farms" in the US are overwhelmingly used as a tax avoidance strategy. Only a numerical minority of farms are actually designed to grow food. [1] https://aei.ag/2019/02/25/what-is-median-farm-income/ https://aei.ag/2019/02/25/what-is-median-farm-income/

WaxProlix 5y ago
> "Farms" in the US are overwhelmingly used as a tax avoidance strategy Can you say more about this / link to some more info? It's an interesting premise and I haven't heard it before.
- bombcar 5y ago
  I suppose many hobby farms get the land classification of agricultural instead of recreational or homestead and are taxed lower.
  - kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
    Christmas tree farms are the best. You're growing a non-necessary crop that you can ignore harvesting for decades.
    - merpnderp 5y ago
      What about pecan farms? A new farm takes 20+ years to start producing and a lot of people would rather have Christmas trees than pecans.
- hattmall 5y ago
  Most rural land is used in some sort of agricultural production. The most is probably timber. For most of those land for most years they don't make much profit if any, but loads of expenses can be deducted against that farm income and 4 out of 5 years, those expenses can go against any other income and the allowed expenses are very liberal.
- imglorp 5y ago
  I have heard of someone who has a regular job, but raises one or two head of livestock a year and sells them for slaughter. This way they get the ag tax benefits for income and their land.
  - devilbunny 5y ago
    There's a large plot of land along a highway outside Fort Worth that is definitely prime development land. The owner keeps a few cattle on the land, qualifying it for agricultural property taxes instead of the much-higher residential rates. Until the land is bid up high enough to make it worthwhile to sell, the ranching operation is enough to keep it inexpensive to hold onto and provide some deductions.
- shalmanese 5y ago
  https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/tax-day-farms-owned-rich-provide-massive-tax-shelter/ https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/tax-day-farms-owne... https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1431279846328610816 https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/143127984632861081...
jcfrei 5y ago
> Only a numerical minority of farms are actually designed to grow food. "Numerically", ok. But by landmass the majority is used to grow food, right?
- merpnderp 5y ago
  Open up Google Maps and switch to satellite mode and then look around the midwest. There are many states that appear to be 90% farmland, but nearly all states have a large percentile of farmland. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/2020-us-agricultural-exports https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/2020-us-agricultural-exports

WaxProlix 5y ago

> "Farms" in the US are overwhelmingly used as a tax avoidance strategy Can you say more about this / link to some more info? It's an interesting premise and I haven't heard it before.

bombcar 5y ago
I suppose many hobby farms get the land classification of agricultural instead of recreational or homestead and are taxed lower.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
  Christmas tree farms are the best. You're growing a non-necessary crop that you can ignore harvesting for decades.
  - merpnderp 5y ago
    What about pecan farms? A new farm takes 20+ years to start producing and a lot of people would rather have Christmas trees than pecans.
hattmall 5y ago
Most rural land is used in some sort of agricultural production. The most is probably timber. For most of those land for most years they don't make much profit if any, but loads of expenses can be deducted against that farm income and 4 out of 5 years, those expenses can go against any other income and the allowed expenses are very liberal.
imglorp 5y ago
I have heard of someone who has a regular job, but raises one or two head of livestock a year and sells them for slaughter. This way they get the ag tax benefits for income and their land.
- devilbunny 5y ago
  There's a large plot of land along a highway outside Fort Worth that is definitely prime development land. The owner keeps a few cattle on the land, qualifying it for agricultural property taxes instead of the much-higher residential rates. Until the land is bid up high enough to make it worthwhile to sell, the ranching operation is enough to keep it inexpensive to hold onto and provide some deductions.
shalmanese 5y ago
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/tax-day-farms-owned-rich-provide-massive-tax-shelter/ https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/tax-day-farms-owne... https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1431279846328610816 https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/143127984632861081...

jcfrei 5y ago

> Only a numerical minority of farms are actually designed to grow food. "Numerically", ok. But by landmass the majority is used to grow food, right?

merpnderp 5y ago
Open up Google Maps and switch to satellite mode and then look around the midwest. There are many states that appear to be 90% farmland, but nearly all states have a large percentile of farmland. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/2020-us-agricultural-exports https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/2020-us-agricultural-exports