Measuring Farm Policy, Part 4: Basic Input Costs and Payments

While it may open with April Fools’ Day, for baseball fans April is the historical home to Opening Day and the beginning of a new season. The wonderful oddity of the former may trace its roots to 1582 when France adopted the Gregorian calendar, moving New Year’s day from April 1 to January 1 (Winick, March 28, 2016). Baseball’s spring ritual traces to the founding of the National League in early 1876, followed by the first opening day on April 22nd at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia (Rothenberg; Nathan, 2013; Voight, 1970). Neither folklore nor prank, April marks four months into 2024; there is no joy in Farm Bill-ville, however, because neither team has even taken the field (see e.g., Thayer). The chances of Farm Bill reauthorization in 2024 grow more dim with each passing day and analysis begins to take on the tenor of postmortem. Measuring farm policy, its own version of Moneyball; today’s article offers crop production’s input costs for perspective (Lewis, 2004).