May 15, 2026 · Nebraska Farmers Network
Farmers and Ranchers Feed the World. USDA Data Shows They Keep Less Than 6 Cents on the Dollar.
Farmers and ranchers received 5.8 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States last year. The other 94 cents went to processing, packaging, transportation, wholesaling, and retail. Every step between the farm and your table takes another cut. USDA data breaks down exactly where your food dollar goes, what it means for Nebraska producers, and what a different model looks like.
When you buy food from the grocery store, you may assume a farmer or rancher is reaping the benefits of your purchase. However, much less of your dollar is going to the producer than you would expect.
Across all food categories, farmers and ranchers received 5.8 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States in 2024, according to the USDA Economic Research Service Food Dollar Series. This is a decrease from 5.9 cents of the food dollar received in 2023.
The question is: where is the rest of your money going?
Where the Other 94 Cents Goes
The USDA tracks how every consumer food dollar is divided among the industries that touch food before it reaches a plate: farming, processing, packaging, transportation, wholesaling, retail, and food service. In 2024, 88.2 cents of every food dollar went to that marketing bill. Farmers and ranchers split the remaining 11.8 cents, and that's only for domestically produced food. Factor in all food spending including restaurants and food service, and the producer share drops to 5.8 cents.
The further food travels from the farm, the worse the math gets. Bakery products returned 4.8 cents per dollar to farmers in 2024. Snack foods returned 9.7 cents. Soft drinks and bottled water returned 1.3 cents.
Every step added between the farm and the consumer captures value that could belong to the producer.
Nebraska Is Losing Farms While the System Consolidates
The margin pressure on producers runs alongside a consolidation trend that has been reshaping American agriculture for decades. The number of U.S. farms declined again in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There were 15,000 less farms in the United States in 2025 than 2024. In Nebraska, there were 44,100 farms in 2025, a 200 farm decrease from the previous year. Despite the decrease in the number of farms, the national average size of farms is increasing. The numbers speak to a growing trend in the consolidation of farmland, showing higher favorability to large farms versus smaller family farms.
When producers operate on thin margins with no pricing power over the commodities they sell, the math of survival pushes toward scale. Increases in input costs can be absorbed by larger operations, whereas a smaller farm could see themselves destroyed. In contrast to a smaller operations, large farms are able to weather a difficult year and negotiate better terms with lenders and processors. The result is that small and mid-size operations face a choice: expand, find a buyer, or exit.
Fewer, larger farms mean more dependence on the same handful of processors, distributors, and retailers, which means less ability to negotiate on price and fewer alternatives when the terms aren't favorable.
A Solution with Immense Potential
Despite these issues, there is a potential solution that is increasing in popularity.
A 2024 report from the Center for Rural Affairs found that direct-to-consumer farm sales in Nebraska grew 84% between 2017 and 2022. Direct sales to retailers and food hubs grew 45% over the same period. That growth happened during the same years Nebraska was losing farms and acreage overall.
If every Nebraskan purchased just $5 of food per week directly from farms in the state, the Center for Rural Affairs estimates it would generate $512 million in new farm income annually.
The demand is there, and as Nebraskans, it's up to us to provide the support that farmers and ranchers need to keep their businesses and our rural economies thriving.
Nebraska Producers Built Something Worth More Than 6 Cents
Nebraska agriculture is fourth in the nation for a reason. The land, the knowledge, the generational investment in how to work it and what to raise on it, that has real value. The current system captures most of that value after it leaves the operation.
Nebraska producers deserve infrastructure that works in their favor. Real systems, producer-connected and Nebraska-rooted, built so farms and ranches can grow, stay profitable, and stay in the hands of the families who built them. We are dedicated to making systems that work for producers and creating a future that allows them to thrive.
Sources:
https://www.klkntv.com/nebraska-ag-report-shows-soaring-direct-farm-to-table-sales/
https://www.fb.org/market-intel/farmers-receive-less-than-6-cents-of-the-food-dollar