Perceptions of the Farm Bill Among Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans

Authors

Rebecca J. Vogt, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Heather Akin, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Bradley D. Lubben, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
L. J. McElravy, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Timothy Meyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Steven A. Schulz, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow

Date of this Version

12-2023

Document Type

Report

Citation

Nebraska Rural Poll Research Report 23-4, December 2023

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ruralpoll.unl.edu

Abstract

The federal legislation known as the farm bill encompasses all things related to agriculture and food. This includes not only farm income safety net and conservation programs that typically come to mind when thinking about the farm bill, but also domestic food assistance programs (like SNAP), rural development (providing funding for items like broadband service, utilities, and housing programs) as well as programs that are focused on specific producers and crops. Given the variety of programs it entails, how familiar are rural Nebraskans with the farm bill and federal agricultural policy? Do rural Nebraskans support federal spending on the various broad categories of farm bill programs? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions.

This report details 1,100 responses to the 2023 Nebraska Rural Poll, the 28th annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about federal agricultural policy. Comparisons are also made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged:

- Most rural Nebraskans report being unfamiliar with federal agricultural policy. Two-thirds of rural Nebraskans are either very unfamiliar (43%) or somewhat unfamiliar (23%) with federal agricultural policy. Almost three in ten (27%) are somewhat familiar with this policy and only seven percent report being very familiar.

✓ Certain groups are more likely to be familiar with federal agricultural policy: persons living in or near smaller communities, residents of both the North Central and Northeast regions, older persons, males, married persons, persons with higher education levels, and persons with occupations in agriculture.

- Most rural Nebraskans support federal spending for most of the broad categories of farm bill programs. The only program with less than a majority supporting it was international food assistance programs. Almost eight in ten rural Nebraskans support federal funding for conservation programs (79%), rural development (78%), and research and education programs (77%). On the other hand, just over one-third (35%) support funding for international food assistance programs.

- Persons with lower household incomes are more likely than persons with higher incomes to support funding for domestic food assistance programs. Just under three-quarters (73%) of persons with household incomes under $40,000 support funding for these programs, compared to approximately six in ten persons with higher incomes.

- Panhandle residents are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to support funding for programs focused on targeted producers (small, beginning, traditionally underserved, etc.). Just over three-quarters of Panhandle residents support funding for these programs, compared to less than six in ten residents of the North Central region.