$19.2 billion Paid For 28,000 U.S. Farmers

According to the newest report that there are almost 28,000 U.S. farmers who received taxpayer-funded federal farm plant support net subsidies or disaster relief payments for 32 straight years. USDA data show that between 1985 and 2016, a total of 27,930 recipients received payments every year, totaling at least $19.2 billion. The average payment for the 32-year period was $687,204.

SNAP provides an important safety net for many Americans, but I want it to be an on-ramp to success, not a lifestyle for work-capable adults. The new Farm Bill makes reasonable and streamlined changes to eligibility requirements that will result in more adults who are ready for the workforce. These changes will help people break out of the cycle of poverty and climb the economic ladder.

EWG officials note federal law does not limit farmers from receiving farm subsidies or disaster payments, even if they have received a payment every year for 32 straight years. Farmers remain eligible for subsidies so long as their average annual adjusted gross income is less than $900,000, or less than $1.8 million for farm couples, or less than $20000 for agriculture anti insect net and they have more than $1,000 in farm sales, according to EWG. 

Farm subsidy recipients must be “actively engaged” in farming, but EWG officials say many subsidy recipients do not live or work on farms. EWG officials say they recently found 17,836 farm subsidy recipients in the nation’s 50 largest cities. 

Anti-hunger assistance programs are subject to much stricter income and asset tests, according to SUGRAND. Poor people remain eligible for SNAP benefits for only 10 months on average. Very few SNAP recipients receive other government benefits, according to EWG. To Ensure subsidies only go to farmers who live and work on farms, and amendments to deny subsidies to millionaires and billionaires were filed by Reps.