White House to give $ 19B in farmer aid – POLITICO, Politico

The stimulus plan is the latest in a long string of recent ad hoc relief efforts for the agricultural economy. Trump has pulled out the stops to bail out farmers and ranchers stung by his own trade war and biofuel policies, in addition to long-term economic headwinds.

“The program will include direct payments to farmers as well as mass purchases of dairy, meat and agricultural produce, to get that food to the people in need,” Trump said during a White House press briefing.

Perdue said at the briefing that the direct aid to farmers will total $ 16 billion, while the department will buy $ 3 billion in surplus food to give to food banks and other organizations.

Sen. John Hoeven (RN.D.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations panel that oversees USDA spending, released details about how the direct aid would be divided among commodity sectors, with the majority share going to cattle, hog and dairy producers.

On a conference call with reporters, Perdue said he hopes to get checks in the mail to farmers by the end of May.

USDA is financing the payments through a combination of the new spending authority from Congress included in the stimulus package and existing funds. Trump said an additional $ billion in aid would be available in July.

Commodity groups have felt burned in the past by the department’s aid efforts. For example, corn growers complained in 2018 that Trump’s trade bailout only paid them one penny per bushel, while other sectors of the farm economy were left out of the program entirely.

On Friday, the National Pork Producers Council said hog producers ’slice of the aid package will“ fall short of what is truly needed. ”

“While the direct payments to hog farmers will offset some losses for some farmers, they are not sufficient to sustain the varied market participants, including those who own hogs as well as thousands of contract growers who care for pigs,” NPPC President Howard AV Roth said in a statement.

The Renewable Fuels Association said USDA “missed a crucial opportunity” to help biofuel producers in crisis as drivers stay off the roads and gasoline consumption plummets. The group said it’s “unfortunate and disappointing that the 823, 000 workers supported by America’s ethanol industry were left behind. ”

Perdue said USDA wasn’t given enough money by Congress to fully address all the farmers in need.

“Frankly at this point there’s just not enough money to go around,” he said. “The demand from all the sectors was even more than we could accommodate at this time.”

The secretary also said hemp growers could be eligible for aid “if they demonstrate a loss.”

As for the commodity purchases, the department said it will start by procuring about $ 100 million per month each of meat, dairy and fresh produce. Participating distributors and wholesalers will then send pre-approved boxes of the goods to food banks, faith-based organizations, community groups and other nonprofits, according to the summary.

Congress last month authorized the Agriculture Department to spend more than $ 23 billion to boost hard-hit sectors including livestock and dairy producers, specialty crop growers and producers who sell to local food systems like farmers markets. Some of those sectors have been struggling for years from trade headwinds, labor shortages, low commodity prices and the rapid consolidation in agriculture.

Farmers have also struggled to access separate pieces of the $ 2 trillion stimulus package, including forgivable small business loans aimed at helping employers keep their workers on the payroll.