Taxpayer beliefs about farm income and preferences for farm policy

One voice that is commonly overlooked in debates about farm policy and payment limitations is that of the average tax payer. Surprisingly little research has been done on what taxpayers believe about farms and what they prefer regarding farm policy. Our sample of taxpayers believes that farmers are doing well financially, and most people actually overestimate farmers' incomes. In addition, we found strong preferences for subsidizing small family farms over very large family farms, even though most of the people in our sample believe small family farms earn a higher level of income than their own household. A large majority of our sample supports government subsidies for farmers, primarily because people believe it ensures a secure food supply.