DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) -- The USDA has announced the details on actions it will take to assist farmers who have been damaged by trade retaliation from other nations.
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is authorizing up to $12 billion in programs consistent with World Trade Organization obligations.
$1.2 billion will go to the Agricultural Marketing Service to administer a Food Purchase and Distribution Program, buying commodities targeted by tariffs, distributing them through food assistance and child nutrition programs. $200 million will go to develop foreign markets for U.S. agriculture. The other $10.6 billion will go to the Market Facilitation Program under authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation and administered by the FSA.
Corn producers will get an estimated $96 million, or one cent a bushel. Hog producers could get $290 million dollars, or $8.00 a head. Soybeans get the most at $3.6 billion, $1.65 a bushel.
Perdue says the announcement will give President Trump the time he needs to work out trade deals, "President Trump has been standing up to China and other nations, sending the clear message that the united states will no longer stand for unfair trade practices, which include non-tariff trade barriers and the theft of intellectual property. In short, the president has taken action to benefit all sectors of the American economy, including agriculture in the long run."
While farmers can start applying for payments under the Market Facilitation Program on September 4th, there are restrictions: Applicants must have an ownership interest in the commodity, be actively engaged in farming, and have an average adjusted gross income of less than $900,000.
Applicants must also comply with provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.
Interested producers can apply after their harvest is complete and they can report 2018 production, applications are available online at www.farmers.gov/mfp or you can talk to your local Farm Service Agency office.