I have met a lot of farmers over the last two years. I have met a lot of small farmers, a few medium sized farmers, and a couple of large farmers.
I am not really sure that any of them make more than minimum wage once you factor in all of their work hours. Quite a few of them lose money and basically make a negative wage.
Most of them are supported by a spouse with an outside job or sometimes an inheritance of at least land.
Even with the super high beef prices this year, the highest in a generation, most ranchers are barely making ends meet. Wheat prices haven’t changed much since the 70s, while equipment and fuel and seed and fertilizer and chemicals have increased many times over.
Farming in America is in dire straits.