May I know why farming is regarded a low-income profession?

Question

Please be honest with you answer. I received biases whenever I introduced myself a farmer.

Answer 1

It's an interesting question really.  As a farmer, I think I can give you a little bit of insight.

A lot of bias is simply in how you present yourself, due to a lot of misinformation and confusion in the general populace regarding farming.  Many people think of "dirt farmers", low income families who make very little money from the crops because they don't have the income to enrich the land they farm.  There's the common image of the farmer in torn cover alls and a straw hat.  I've even seen a recent commercial which negatively portrays a farmer as running a business out of a chicken coop (I won't get into that).

I don't get negative feedback, simply because I don't say "I'm a farmer."  I say "I own a duck farm."  Amongst the general populace, while the "farmer" is seen as a poor person, a farm owner is more widely associated with southern ranching or plantations.  It's laughable that people don't get that a farmer and a farm owner are the same thing.  But, that's perception for you.  

The idea that farming is a low income proffession makes me giggle.  I love the answers here.  Like any business, you get what you invest.  If you buy an angus herd, it costs more, but makes more in the long run.  If you buy a bunch of black and white calfs from the local market for fifty cents a pound, you aren't going to get as much back from them.  

I own a muscovy duck farm.  If I bought a bunch of wild type splash ducks for a buck apiece, I wouldn't make any money off them.  I invest in the best ducks I can get for breeding stock so that the ducks I get are worth selling.

Same goes for planting.  If I plant corn, and I just let it sit, I'm not going to make as much.  If I invest in the best corn seed, and fertilize, and invest in irrigation and pest control... I make more.  Heck, I could easily invest in some ginseng for planting, or do herb planting, and make more money per acre.  It's all what you put into it, just like any other business.

Answer 2

The Farmers that I know from Union County, Kentucky, USA are not poor and no one considers them poor. They are some of the richest men in the county.  Maybe the farmer of the 20s and 30s were poor, but today the farmers that I know are business men, with college degrees.

Answer 3

Farmers know how to produce an item, but have little or no skills in marketing that product so are Price Takers.  Low income workers have little skills to offer and are also price takers. Skilled tradesmen, professionals and market place sellors are Price Setters.  I came from a farming background, and also thought it unfair that the producers could not name there price.  But you do have good years, stay mum, else someone will try and take you down.

Answer 4

Well I'm no professional but in Australia farmers have to battle a no. of things, the first thing being an unpredictable climate, we are quite often in drought so that puts a dampener on the profits made in the good years. also there is the cost price squeeze, that is the fact that the cost of inputs is rising at a greater rate than the cost of outputs so that overall the cocky is making less net income for the same amount of commodity produced. also the price of land is far too high in most areas so that the income made off the place cannot pay back the int rest on the loan to buy the place. the high land prices are due to tree changers looking for nice hobby farms to run a few horses, they usually get a lot of money when they sell their city house and therefore have a lot of capital to spend on a hobby farm so it doesn't have to be profitable for them. also as people get wealthier, it is shown economically that they spend a smaller percentage of their earnings on food and more on luxury items. However farming can be profitable in a lot of ways but i don't have time to mention them right now, hope this helps.

Answer 5

Buying retail and selling wholesale is a good way to put it. But farming is considered a low income profession because *MOST* jobs are. There's advertised jobs for $80-100k salaries...but most jobs aren't close to that.

Not only are wages low, but something that's 6-7 days a week. Trying to find a decent job - even with experience - is tough. Looking honestly at the average ag job it's low income, high hours and often poor conditions in that it's taken for granted people will stay.

From a farming-for-yourself standpoint - have been running in to serious issues with getting land and startup. Without having access to major credit it's impossible - and even that is with the skepticism that one won't be able to make a living on market prices with land prices the way they are. The costs of land, fencing, equipment, seed stock etc are high. The loss potential is high.

Answer 6

farming is a multi-billion dollar industry.  but, the majority of private farmers make only a small amount each year.

this is because private farms income is directly related to land size, quality, the type and amount of crop produced, and the weather of the area that year. not to mention the advertising available to them, and their budget.

whereas large corporate farms can produce larger quantities, have more land, and have access and funding for better marketing.

Answer 7

I believe that farming is regarded as low-income because of social inertia.  Until the modern era, MOST people--particularly in rural areas--were farmers.  And also, MOST people were low-income.  So we've not gotten over our perceptions of farmers as members of the peasantry.

Answer 8

its the influence of other businesses primarily. there are a lot more farming businesses than there are supermarkets, so the supermarkets can oppress farmers, making unfair demands and pushing prices down, and on the other end there are also few companies that sell agricultural products like fertilisers and seeds so these companies can also oppress farmers at the other end

Answer 9

I farm 11,000 acres in Argentina.

I do pretty good.

Answer 10

Most all answerers are pretty close and accurate in their answers. One glaring problem that I haven’t seen addressed yet is a basic business problem unique to farming.  Farming is a “manufacturing occupation”.  A “product” is produced by a very very small percentage of the human race. (taking into account all the readers and countries who are present)  

This particular manufacturing/production is monitored, regulated, trends are traded, weather is used HEAVILY in trying to outguess what is or will not be “produced” and prices are set or changed based on guesses-hunches- etc. There is no other production that is so highly monitored, and priced according to the “production output”

General Motors is not monitored or hindered in anyway as to their “production output”, cars don’t change prices overnight based or some government production report, or world production report, or weather conditions, etc. Clothing manufacturers aren’t monitored, clothes don’t have overnight market flucation’s due to weather, over-production, etc. ( understand?)  

Every other production industry is simply market driven.  If GM overproduces a specific type of vehicle,, the world price doesn’t drop, same for clothes.  The cars or clothes simply don’t sell, or the “producer” has the option of dropping the price until the product does finally sell. There is NO government agency, private organization, etc,, watching those industries and proclaiming to the world “they’ve overproduced” the price will now be less!! Or, there’s a shortage of Clothes,, so the price increases overnight on the clothes you buy.

Food is much like gold,, the world price is set daily based on what the London price is set at. The difference is the basic food product is set by Government and private organizations around the world, based on production figures, weather conditions, etc,, and the “producer” has NO input on the price taking into account their actual production costs.

Agriculture is the ONLY production industry that buys all inputs at retail price and is forced to sell the product at wholesale price.

Answer 11

the average american farmer generally makes only enough to cover the expenses of the farm.  This is not to say that there is no money in farming, commercial farming is very profitable, but your local family farm does not make enough to be considered profitable.