Farm Share of U.S. ‘Food Dollar’ Slips Again

The share farmers receive for farm commodity sales for domestically produced food fell in 2015, the last year such data is available. On average, farmers receive 15.6 cents on each dollar consumers spend on food, according to recent reporting from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).

The amount – also referred to as “farm share” – sank to its lowest level in a decade after four straight years of decline, according to ERS.

ERS uses input-output analysis to determine both the farm and marketing shares from a typical “food dollar,” which includes food purchased from grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other “eating out” places.

“The drop in farm share also coincides with four consecutive years of increases in the share of food dollars paying for services provided by the foodservice industry,” ERS notes. “Since farmers receive a smaller share from eating out dollars, due to the added costs for preparing and serving meals, more food-away-from-home spending will also drive down the farm share.”