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(Bloomberg) – In the face of growing tensions with the agricultural world, the Trump administration withdrew its staff from a private tour of the Midwest corn and soybean fields after a government employee had received a threat.
While the threat came from outside the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour, the US Department of Agriculture chose to withdraw all staff as a precaution, announced Wednesday by email Hubert Hamer, administrator of the National Service of Agricultural Statistics of the USDA. NASS Chief of Cultures Lance Honig was to speak to tour groups, which include farmers, reporters, and agri-food interests monitoring crop progress.
"The federal protection services have been contacted and are investigating the incident," Hamer said, without giving details about the nature of the threat. "The safety of our employees is our top priority."
The USDA's data arm has been angry in recent months, after crop estimates surprised traders and producers who expected the agency to drastically reduce its prices. prospects after the delay of the rains. Maize prices fell last week as planting data exceeded analysts' expectations. The USDA had already been criticized for its June estimates and had taken the unusual step of re-surveying farmers for a more accurate figure.
The USDA's withdrawal of crops comes about two weeks after farmers criticized Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for a fair in Minnesota over President Donald Trump's long-running trade war against China, which eroded demand and put pressure on already low prices.
In a statement released Wednesday, Farm Journal, the parent company of Pro Farmer, said the threat was taken seriously and that she had also taken precautions to ensure the safety of the participants.
"For 27 years, the Pro Farmer Crop Tour has been a public service that benefits agriculture, whether it's good or bad," he said. "And it's clearly a stressful time right now."
During nocturnal crop visits in Indiana, Illinois and Grand Island, Nebraska, farmers interviewed US and Pro Farmer officials about the government's method of determining acreage planted to corn and yields. Some farmers, stung by years of low prices, were frustrated by the rapid rise in prices in May and the sharp decline that followed.
USDA officials said yield estimates were largely based on information provided by farmers as well as on satellite imagery. The planting area figures released by the Farm Service Agency earlier this month were based on data from 1 August, and that number has already increased, said Chris Hawthorn, a NASS statistician, to farmers.
"We had a great time with the guys from the USDA yesterday," said Jim Putnam, a Minnesota farmer, who traveled Tuesday with two USDA employees. "I'm sorry that has happened. It makes us all look stupid. "
Last month, the Trump administration announced additional aid of $ 16 billion to farmers after a $ 12 billion tranche in 2018. Earlier this month, Trump hinted that his administration could to provide more money to farmers if the trade war persisted.
Trump's overwhelming support in rural areas of the United States was critical to his tight election victory in 2016 and continued support from the farmer is critical to his re-election. This week again, the administration was criticized by the interests of agriculture for its treatment of the renewable fuels standard, the policy that requires the use of ethanol and soy-based biodiesel.
On Tuesday, the Iowa Soybean Association sent a letter to Trump and Perdue, inviting him to hold a meeting to discuss the waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to small derogations granted to refineries. Iowa's farmers and biodiesel producers are facing. "
Chicago corn for December delivery rose 0.4% on Wednesday.
(Adds corn prices.) An earlier version corrected from Nebraska's spelling in the eighth paragraph
– With the help of Dominic Carey and Millie Munshi.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mario Parker in Chicago at [email protected], Michael Hirtzer in Chicago at [email protected], Isis Almeida in Chicago at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at [email protected], Tina Davis
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