Farmers’ share of food dollar at record low

USDA's Economic Research Service's Food Dollar Series recently revealed that in 2016 the farmers' share of the food dollar fell to 14.8 cents, down 4.5 percent from the prior year and the lowest level since the series was launched in 1993. When adjusted for inflation, in 2009 dollars, the farmers' share of the food dollar was 12.2 cents, down 11.6 percent from 2015 and again the lowest level since the series began. The farmers' share of the $1 spent on domestically produced food represents the percentage of the farm commodity sales tied to that food dollar expenditure. Non-farm related marketing associated with the food dollar, i.e. transportation, processing, marketing, etc., rose to a record-high of 85.2 cents.