Farm Bill: Who benefits?

This map shows federal farm program payments as a percentage of total farm sales in 2004. Although California is the No. 1 farm state in the nation by far, it receives a relatively small percentage of the billions of dollars handed out each year. That’s because most of the money goes to five staple crops—corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and cotton—that make up a small part of California’s farm output. More than half the state’s product is fruits, nuts and vegetables—so-called specialty crops. Corn farmers get the most money, which is why states in the so-called “corn belt” are in the top quartile.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, www.ers.usda.gov