News

New Research on Perceptions of PIPP

New research co-authored by Alejandro Plastina (independent of RaFF) explores how farmers and the broader public perceive an emerging area of agriculture, pastured and integrated poultry production (PIPP). The study reveals shared recognition of benefits such as soil health, animal welfare, and weed control. It also highlights important challenges…

Farm Bankruptcies

RaFF Director, Alejandro Plastina, Ph.D., contributed commentary to a recent article on bankruptcies and the survival of family farms. “These bankruptcies ‘are not a sign of sector-wide collapse,’ stressed Alejandro Plastina, but ‘are clearly a sign of concern.’” Read the full article at Straight Arrow News.

Plastina Comments on Growing Ad Hoc Aid

Alejandro Plastina, RaFF Director, spoke with Carah Hart of the Brownfield Network about the amount of farm income contributed by ad hoc assistance in recent years. Listen to the interview or read more in Ad Hoc Assistance in the Evolving U.S. Farm Safety Net (RaFF Policy Brief 2026-8(3)).

RaFF Contributes to CARD Report

Alejandro Plastina (RaFF DIrector), Joohun Han (RaFF Senior Applied Research Economist), and Chad Hart (CARD) recently published an article, “The Ag Economy in 2026: A Farm Finance Perspective” within a comprehensive report on Iowa’s agricultural economies. The report, “2026 Iowa Agricultural Outlook: The Pressure is Rising,” was jointly published…

RaFF joins Nebraska’s Center for Agricultural Profitability for Spring 2026 farm income outlook webinar

The Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri presented a webinar on May 7, 2026. Brad Lubben, Ph.D., and Alejandro Plastina, Ph.D., reviewed the latest farm income projections for Nebraska and the U.S….

Spring 2026 Farm Income Outlooks in the News

RaFF released the Spring 2026 Farm Income Outlooks for ten Midwestern and Southern states in late April, offering insights into farm income estimates at the state level. Top-level themes continue to be direct government payments, variable conditions by sector, and input costs. Read more about the reports in the…

Plastina Presents at University of Minnesota

On Friday, Nov. 21, Dr. Alejandro Plastina, RaFF Director, presented as part of the APEC Seminar Series at the University of Minnesota. His presentation, “Unveiling the Robustness of Productivity Comparisons with Basket Alikeness Measures,” introduced an indicator of the robustness of numerical comparisons of total factor productivity (TFP) indexes,…

RaFF Fall 2025 Farm Income Outlooks in the News

RaFF released the Fall 2025 Farm Income Outlooks for ten Midwestern and Southern states in late October, offering insights into farm income estimates at the state level. Top-level themes include government payments and vastly variable conditions by sector. Read more about the reports in the news:

Lubben and Plastina Present Nebraska & U.S. Farm Income

On Thursday, Nov. 6, Dr. Alejandro Plastina, RaFF Director, joined Dr. Brad Lubben, Extension Associate Professor and Policy Specialist at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, to discuss the latest projections for Nebraska and U.S. farm income. The details are always more complex and highlight the need for a deeper analysis. Watch…

RaFF Participates in 2025 AAEA Track Session

In late July, Dr. Alejandro Plastina, Director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center, participated in a track session alongside extension faculty from several other Land Grant institutions. After hearing the background and a plan for the future of RaFF, the group discussed the ways current RaFF…