Importance of government payments varies regionally

Whether expressed in nominal or constant dollars, government payments in the 2007-09 period represent the lowest total volumes paid to producers since 1997. During this period, however, the importance of government payments as a percent of net cash farm income varied by ERS production region. Low levels of crop payments as a function of prices in 2007-09 and low milk program support payments meant that the government payments' shares of net cash farm income were on average less than 20 percent for producers in the Northeast, Corn Belt, Lake States, and the Pacific regions. The government payments' shares of net cash farm income were on average highest in the southeast quadrant of the U.S., where government payments represented on average 50 percent or more of net cash farm income for producers in the Southeast and Southern Plains regions. This figure is from the Farm Income and Costs: Farm Receiving Government Payments briefing room, February 2011.

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