Some farmers feel the payments aren’t enough
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
As U.S. farmers begin to receive federal payments to offset the impacts of tariffs on American agriculture, some are worried about the numbers they’re seeing on the checks.
Corn producers, for example, will receive one cent per bushel under one of the USDA’s three federal farm assistance programs. The USDA estimates it will receive more than 784,000 applications for financial relief.
“That’s not even beer money,” Jack Maloney, a corn and soybean producer from Brownsburg, Iowa, told The Associated Press yesterday.
“A penny per bushel is a big slap in the face for corn growers,” John Torres, director of government and industry affairs with the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association, told The Lima News Sept. 15. “While we appreciate the administration recognizes there’s a problem in trade, there’s simply not enough money in the U.S. Treasury to make U.S. farmers whole.”
Farmers have also indicated the government’s handling of trade and the aid package could change voter loyalty.
President Trump received 62 percent of rural America’s vote, the Texas Center for Community Journalism reports. Those areas would include several farmers.
But growers may consider voting differently if it means a better outcome for the ag community.
“It’s pretty obvious that the rural agriculture communities helped elect this administration, but the way things are going I believe farmers are going to have to vote with their checkbook when it comes time,” Kevin Skunes, president of the National Corn Growers Association, told The Associated Press.