Earlier this week, the USDA announced a third and final 2019 Market Facilitation Program payment.  USDA said the funds will help farmers and producers negatively impacted by the trade war with China.  The National Farmers Union has urged USDA to address what they see as the program’s inequities, as well as establish a more permanent mechanism to ensure financial viability for family farmers.

 

“The pain and uncertainty wreaked by President Trump’s trade wars cannot be overstated," said NFU President Roger Johnson.  "Family farmers lost hard-won markets, millions of dollars, and countless nights of sleep agonizing about how to make ends meet. While trade assistance payments have been a crucial and much-appreciated bandage for this self-inflicted wound, they aren’t a panacea.”

 

Johnson added farmers will likely feel the aftermath of the trade war for many years to come.  He said these federal payments are not sustainable.

 

“The USDA can’t and shouldn’t have to help farmers just barely eke out a living. Instead, this administration should look for ways to provide certainty and fair prices so that family farmers can thrive on their own.”

 

 

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