White House Announces $19B To Help Farmers

On Friday, President Trump announced that help is on its way to assist farmers devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Department of Agriculture will be implementing a 19 billion dollar relief program for our great farmers and ranchers as they cope with the fallout of the global pandemic," President Trump announced. "Very honored to be doing this.”

The aid plan includes $16 billion in direct payments to farmers to boost their incomes, along with $3 billion in government purchases of meat, dairy products and other foods for food banks across the country. The USDA will receive another $14 billion in July for further assistance.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said the hope is to have those checks in the mail by the end of next month.

“USDA will implement this program as quickly, effectively, and efficiently as we can to provide as direct, quick, immediate financial relief to our farmers and ranchers, but also allow for the purchase and distribution of our agricultural surplus to help our fellow Americans in need.”

The American Farm Bureau applauded the relief package for farmers. The following statement may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall:

“We’re grateful to President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for working together to come to the aid of America’s farmers and ranchers. The coronavirus pandemic forced the closing of restaurants, schools and college cafeterias, causing commodity prices to fall off a cliff and serious disruptions to food supply chains. This $16 billion in aid will help keep food on Americans’ tables by providing a lifeline to farm families that were already hit by trade wars and severe weather.

“The plan to purchase $3 billion in meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables will help to stabilize markets and keep farms afloat so they can go about the business of feeding America. Farmers and ranchers proudly accept the responsibility of feeding this nation and it’s heartbreaking to be forced to dispose of milk and plow under crops of fresh food at a time when others are going hungry. We also appreciate the additional funding from other sources to help deliver food from farms to food banks.

“We look forward to additional details about how the aid will be distributed.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Marty Smith issued the following statement:

“We appreciate Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s announcement that the agency will soon distribute funding to the cattlemen and cattlewomen who desperately need help during this national emergency. We applaud USDA’s work to quickly craft a plan to distribute the funds to those who need it most and we look forward to learning more about that plan very soon. America’s cattle producers are facing unprecedented crisis after two market-disruptions in less than a year and this funding will provide the certainty needed to move forward with their work.

“Earlier this week, a study commissioned by NCBA, estimated that cow-calf producers stand to lose $8.1 billion as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, while the stocker/backgrounder sector losses will reach $2.5 billion and feedlot losses will total $3.0 billion as a result of the virus that is ravaging the American economy. Total industry losses are expected to reach $13.6 billion. While the relief funds that have been allocated to USDA by Congress represent a start to stabilizing the industry, there is much more work to be done to protect the cattle producers who are an essential component of the agriculture industry and the anchor for rural America.”

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Dave Milligan made the following statement:

“We would like to thank the USDA for releasing the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). NAWG applauds the Agency for putting the program together so promptly and we look forward to seeing details about how the program will work.

“NAWG looks forward to working with the USDA and Congress to ensure that the needs of wheat growers are addressed during the COVID-19 national emergency.

 Farm Credit Council President and CEO Todd Van Hoose made the following statement regarding the announcement of aid for farmers and ranchers:

“On behalf of Farm Credit, we thank Secretary Perdue and President Trump for their quick action to provide much needed direct assistance to farmers and ranchers. U.S. Ag producers face unprecedented interruptions in the food/Ag supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This latest blow comes after multiple years of low commodity prices, disastrous weather and global trade disruptions.

“A direct infusion of cash to farmers and ranchers will help secure the food supply chain during this pandemic. We encourage Congress and the Trump Administration to ensure that the aid reaches all hard-hit sectors of agriculture, especially livestock, dairy and produce.

“The U.S. potato industry is $4 billion annually with 60% of that total involving food service. Potato growers appreciate Secretary Perdue’s rapid action intended to stabilize family farms whose survival is threatened due to the mandated food service shutdown. Today’s announcement is a down payment on those efforts that will require additional resources and flexibility to deliver the necessary relief for our great potato industry,” said Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council.

“Federal dairy assistance is critically needed as the nation’s dairy farmers face an unprecedented collapse of markets resulting from the shutdown of much of the economy,” said Jim Mulhern, National Milk Producers Federation president and CEO. “The plan announced today should provide important relief to some producers, and we look forward to learning more of its details in coming days to fully understand its scope and implementation.”

“Dairy’s fortunes have been especially grim, given the perishability of our product, its daily harvest and the fact that the virtual shutdown of the food service market has wiped out more than one-third of our product demand. After five years of poor prices, many producers faced financial difficulties even before the coronavirus crisis. Without more aid, this crisis could be their demise. We hope to work with USDA and members of Congress on implementing this plan and on the further assistance that will inevitably be needed due to this deepening crisis.”

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