ECONOMIC

TABLE 25.—Real income per farm and per capita disposable personal farm income aspercent of nonfarm income, 1961—75PeriodTotalincomeper farm(1967dollars) iPercentof farmopeiators'income fromfarmingPer capitadisposablepersonalincome,farm aspercentof nonfarm1961-65 average1966-70 average$6,7978,89351.245.961.772.0197119729 32710 86541.346.474.783.41973197414,18312,68555.851.3109.392.7197510,96944.489.6i Net farm income excluding inventory change plus off-farm income of farm households divided by the index of pricespaid by farmers for family living items, 1967=100.Source: Department of Agriculture.son with the general price level. The indexes for farm prices paid, deflatedby the GNP deflator, were up 44 percent for fertilizers, 28 percent for tractorsand self-propelled machinery, 23 percent for fuels and energy, and 21 percentfor agricultural chemicals between 1970 and 1976. The index of farm realestate prices relative to the GNP deflator rose 42 percent, and the hourlyreal wage rate of hired farm workers rose 12 percent during this same period.FARM AND FOOD POLICYThrough the Rice Production Act of 1975 a rice program that restrictedoutput was replaced last year by the market-oriented approach alreadyexisting for wheat, feed grains, and upland cotton. That approach, introducedin the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973, providesincome support by means of deficiency payments based on the differencebetween a legislated target price and the market price or support pricereceived. The market price is supported at a lower level by way of the"loan rate," the price per bushel which is provided as a loan to qualifyingfarmers who put grain in storage and may then pay off the loan by turninggrain over to the Commodity Credit Corporation. The higher targetprice has little effect on acreage because deficiency payments are made onlyon an allotment base which a farmer cannot increase by expanding acreage.Unlike that for wheat and feed grains the target for rice established for the1976 crop is above market prices. Consequently deficiency payments on the1976 crop of an estimated $140 million will be made to rice growers.The loan rate on wheat was increased by 75 cents to $2.25 per bushelin October 1976, with smaller increases for feed grains. This increase putthe wheat support price near enough to market prices so that any furthersignificant increase in the support price would threaten to reduce exportand feed use of wheat.97