One of the key reasons for the departure of the rural workforce is the lack of community funds for any investme. Smaller farmers are more likely to benefit the local community, they have higher yields per acre, and their food is more likely to be more nutritious.
Better Methods to Support Farmers than Subsidies
Most of the benefit from subsidies are larger producers. With the top 10% of producers recieving 68% of subsidies.
We need to stop artificially promoting economies of scale farming. There is a decrease in cost per buschel, however they are accepting lower yields per acre. If we increase the number of farmers, the cost of farming for small and midsized farms will decrease over time. We would increase our total yield, and our rural and small town communities would finally end their decades long recession
Rural towns, specifically those which have increase in amount of farmers would grow significantly depending on the size, and the ripple effect in local buisnesses (construction, butcher, transport) all increase jobs and/or pay in longterm poorer communities.
(also note about the lie of the cheaper rural cost of living)
It is all concentrated on housing, and this is the result of a decades long departure of the rural population.
Also food being cheaper, this is partially true specifically for ingrediants however processed foods are often significantly more expensive in rural areas. Poor people are more likely to eat processed foods and Rural citizens are more likely to be poor.