Tracking Public Perceptions of Payments Across Commodities

By Maria Kalaitzandonakes and Jonathan Coppess et.al

In the last year, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign has brought a new interest in food and agricultural policy, including increased discussion about what commodities should be supported. For example, the initial MAHA Commission Report highlighted concern for insufficient support for specialty crops as “compounding the issue” of poor diets (2025). Additionally, some MAHA leaders have been vocal about their support for animal products, including meat and dairy, while being critical of sugar and some field crop products (e.g., soybean oil) (Prater, 2025; Todd, 2025; Held, 2025). The responses reviewed here can also provide perspective on allocations of the increased assistance to farmers that Congress enacted in the Reconciliation Farm Bill (see e.g., farmdoc daily, July 15, 2025; August 21, 2025).

In this post, we discuss how public support for six different commodity categories has changed over the last three years, reviewing results from the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey (GFAPS) conducted in May 2022 (farmdoc daily, June 24, 2022) and August 2025, and discuss preferences across MAHA perspectives. Despite shifts in the food policy discussion in the last three years, we find minimal changes in consumers’ support across commodities. We also generally find agreement on commodity support across consumers who view MAHA as positive, negative, or who were unaware of MAHA. Finally, we compare public priorities with estimates of actual support across commodities.

Methods

To understand how public perceptions have changed, we review results from the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey. Each wave, approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers are recruited via Qualtrics. In this post, we use results from wave 1, which was conducted in May 2022 and wave 14, which was conducted in August 2025.

In both waves, participants were told, “One way to determine which types of farms could be eligible for financial support from the government is based on the types of commodities produced on the farm. Some of the most common commodities produced are: Field crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, rice), Livestock (cattle, hogs, poultry), Dairy (milk), Specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, nuts), Textile crops (cotton, wool), Sugar crops (sugar beets, sugarcane). You have been given $100 to provide support to farms that grow these different types of commodities.” ^[1] They were then asked how much they would give to each commodity group. The order of the commodities was randomized to prevent ordering effects. Respondents were reminded that if they would not give money to a particular group, they should type 0 in the response box.

In wave 14, to compare how respondents’ allocations differed across perspectives on Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), we also utilize results from a MAHA awareness measure and, for those who were aware of MAHA, a MAHA perception measure. For the awareness measure, respondents were asked “Prior to this survey, had you heard of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign?” and could respond yes or no. Those who responded yes were then asked their perception of MAHA (“How would you describe your view on the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign?”) and could respond very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or very negative. Combined, we categorize these into three categories: MAHA positive (either somewhat or very), MAHA negative (either somewhat or very), or MAHA unaware.