The article focuses on changes in the scale of poverty among Polish farming families in 2004–2015 and describes selected determinants thereof. Two types of poverty, namely extreme and relative ones were considered. The study shows that the scale of poverty among farming population fluctuated and slightly decreased. This was due to changes in economic situation, particularly in the labour market in terms of unemployment. The analysis of the survey data also revealed that the risk of poverty was alleviated by taking up employment by the members of farming families or by receiving pensions or social benefits. This was the case of the majority of families running small farms, where non-agricultural income constitutes a relatively important source of income. The study also showed that to a relatively great extent poverty was the problem of large families and farmers running small subsistence farms. The data reported in the article were drawn from both public statistics on the living conditions of households and field surveys conducted by IAFE-NRI in 76 villages located across Poland.