Each year, the Feeding the Economy report provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the full economic footprint of U.S. food and agriculture. While often discussed in terms of farm receipts or commodity production, the report highlights a much broader reality: agriculture is not just a sector, it is a foundational driver of economic activity that supports millions of jobs, trillions in output and significant tax revenue across every state.

The 2026 Feeding the Economy report estimates $10.4 trillion in economic output tied to food and agriculture, accounting for roughly one-fifth of all U.S. economic activity, while supporting nearly 49 million jobs across the economy. At the center of that system are farmers and ranchers, whose production underpins economic stability by supplying the raw goods that feed families, sustain industries, support jobs, keep supply chains functioning nationwide and help ensure that the economic value tied to food production remains in the United States.

The USDA plans to conduct a pre-solicitation call for fresh apples under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, which authorizes the agency to buy surplus agricultural commodities to support market prices and provide food assistance domestically.

The response to downturns in wine grape demand, concentrated in California’s Central Valley but experienced across the state, is rippling across the economy, impacting growers and some of the country’s largest producers in myriad ways.

USDA forecasts 2024 net farm income to drop 25.1% from 2023. That follows a 16% decline from 2022 to 2023. If those forecasts hold true, that marks the two largest drops in net farm income in history.

New Columbia Fruit Packers will close its apple packing plant in Yakima, Wash., in August and expects to lay off about 200 employees.

Increased competition from foreign growers has prompted producers in Georgia — and other states — to encourage produce buyers to buy U.S.-grown items, especially during the spring and summer season

California’s 2024 blueberry crop is estimated at 74.5 million pounds, an increase from last year’s 71 million pounds but down from an initial estimate of 80 million pounds.

2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast

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