The federal government has said that it will give farmers an additional $14 billion to compensate them for the difficulties they have endured selling their crops and livestock (including milk) because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Agriculture released details of the plan saying they will provide “financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
President Trump addressed them in Wisconsin directly, saying “you gotta love Trump” and promising favorable trade and regulatory changes, as well as tax cuts, saying “Now we have to get four more years to cement it, and to do additional things”.
The coronavirus pandemic has created several problems for farmers as the lack of labor has reduced livestock and crop production. It also limited processing capacity in meatpacking plants and other facilities.
These problems have pushed prices that farmers receive for commodities lower. They’ve also seen a drop in demand for some products as fewer people have been eating out, and the farmers have suffered from loss of income from off-farm jobs that they use to fund farm production needs, household expenses and payments on farm debt.
Agriculture groups celebrated the additional money, most of which will come in payments directly for crops that meet a threshold of price decline, such as corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton.
Eggs, chickens, beef cattle, milk, pigs, and lambs also will be covered, as will oats, peanuts, rice, tobacco, hemp, wool, and alfalfa.
Farmer can begin signing up for the money on Monday.
