In the high plains of western Texas, 600 or so farms in Gaines County are projected to receive an additional $258 million in government payments over the next decade under President Trump’s marquee domestic policy law — the largest increase in the country.
By contrast, along the coast of California, 1,000 farms in Monterey County will collectively receive just $390,000 in additional payments, according to one analysis.
The difference comes down to what the farms grow, and illustrates the stark disparity in who stands to benefit from the president’s sweeping tax and domestic policy bill. Under the new law, more than $60 billion in additional funding will be funneled toward agricultural subsidy programs, with large farms, particularly those in the South, poised to reap the most benefits.
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“The monies are not flowing to small- and medium-sized family farms,” said Vincent H. Smith, an agricultural economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. “They’re flowing overwhelmingly to the largest producers.”
