Illinois farmers are increasingly dependent on non-farm jobs
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[July 20, 2023]
By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – Agricultural communities depend on non-farm jobs
to keep farming.
In rural America, people think that agriculture “drives the [economic]
bus,” said Mark White, agricultural economics professor with the
University of Illinois Extension. In reality, rural areas have complex,
diverse economies that farm households depend on. Production agriculture
is only one of many sources of economic activity in Illinois’ non-metro
counties.
Ninety-two percent of family farms are small operations with less than
$350,000 in gross cash farm income. Non-farm jobs give farmers needed
income flow and stability, White said.
People are surprised to learn that “nearly 56% of principal farm
operators have a main job off the farm,” White said. An even higher
percentage of younger farmers, 63%, have payroll jobs off the farm.
The biggest reason for off-farm jobs is steady income, White said.
Payroll income is steadier and more stable than farm income.
Family farmers also depend on off-farm jobs to provide benefits like
health insurance and retirement benefits. Over half of farm households
surveyed cited benefits as a reason for off-farm jobs, according to the
report The Importance of Off Farm Income to the Agricultural Economy for
CoBank.
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Fifty-five percent of farm households get their health insurance from
private employers. Eighteen percent purchase health insurance for
self-employed people directly from providers. Retirees use public
insurance.
Off-farm jobs include everything from teaching, health care and
accounting to trucking and farm input sales. Most farm operators and
their spouses work in managerial and professional jobs, the CoBank
report said.
The local economy also provides jobs for the children of farm
households, enabling them to stay in the community when they finish
school, unless they decide to become farmers themselves, White said.
Earned pay from wages and self-employment make up the largest share,
59%, of non-farm income for Illinois family farmers. Unearned income
from Social Security, pensions and investments provides other sources of
non-farm income.
The importance of non-farm income for farmers means that the
agricultural sector depends on a healthy regional economy in order to
have a successful farm operation.
“If you have a local community that is really struggling, those job
opportunities are not there,” White said. The health of local economies
in non-farm activities is critical, he said.
“A thriving community supports a strong agricultural sector. A strong
agricultural sector needs that other piece,” White said. |