The first 50 years of the Federal crop insurance program were marked by low enrollment levels. To boost program participation, legislation in 1994 and 2000 increased premium subsidies. In the years since, the jump in enrollment coupled with high commodity prices caused significant increases in...

Beginning, limited-resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers make up as much as 40 percent of all U.S. farms. Some Federal conservation programs contain provisions that encourage participation by such “targeted” farmers and the 2008 Farm Act furthered these efforts. This report compares...

Advanced technology use is less prevalent in rural than in urban manufacturing plants, but plants of comparable size in the same industry use about the same level of technology, regardless of urban/rural location. The rural gap comes about because the mix of rural industries is more heavily...