How do tax loss benefits and asset appreciation affect the returns to farming for U.S. farm households?

Net farm income and net cash farm income, as well as the farm household’s income or loss from the farm business, are commonly used measures of farm financial performance. However, other factors may affect the household’s economic return from farming. Almost half of all farm households face a loss from the farm business in any given year, and those households can benefit from offsetting these tax losses. Households may also gain from appreciation of their assets, particularly farmland, depending on how much of their operated land is owned. This paper analyzes farm returns after adjusting for these factors, estimating the additional gains households receive from offsetting tax losses and asset appreciation. Economic returns are found to be higher for larger farms, and those with higher debt.