The Importance of Off-Farm Income to the Agriculture Economy

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership in collaboration with the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) and the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute, welcomes Alan Spell and Justin Krohn as they present “The Importance of Off-Farm Income to the Agriculture Economy.” Off-farm jobs and income are critically important to farmers and ranchers, as the rural and agricultural economy has evolved over the past half century to benefit connected and diverse communities. While growing rural and urban economic interdependence can be hard to see at times, an appreciation of this dynamic relationship is vital to informing policies that strengthen the financial health of communities and agricultural producers alike. Misunderstanding of “rural” connectiveness and industry diversity can lead to well-intentioned federal programs that actually hinder policy efforts to support these communities. Using the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) data, studies found commuting gains speed, especially in rural counties.: