[ad_1]
Broken emails
Receive alerts and special reports. News and stories that matter, delivered in the morning on weekdays.
WASHINGTON – US farmers will soon start receiving government checks as part of a $ 1 billion bailout to support farmers facing President Donald Trump's trade tensions with China.
But even those who are ready for big winnings worry that this is not enough. And while support for Trump is almost steadfast in the heart of the country, some producers said the November elections approaching, these disappointing results could affect their vote.
"It's quite obvious that rural farming communities have helped to elect this administration, but the way things are going, I think farmers will have to vote with their checkbooks," said Kevin Skunes, corn and soybean producer at Arthur. , North Dakota and President of the National Corn Growers Association.
Corn producers get the smallest share of the pie. Corn groups estimate a loss of 44 cents per bushel, but they are about to receive just one penny per bushel.
"If these problems have not been solved, there could be a change in the way farmers vote," Skunes said. "A person must take into account all things."
Farmers are already feeling the impact of Trump's trade with China and other countries. China has responded with its own set of tariffs on US agricultural products and other goods.
The Trump administration provides up to $ 12 billion in emergency relief funds to US farmers, with about $ 6 billion in an initial phase. The three-pronged plan provides $ 4.7 million in payments to corn, cotton, soybean, dairy, pork and sorghum producers. The rest consists of developing new foreign markets for US commodities and buying more than two dozen selected products, including some fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, meat and dairy products.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last month that soybean producers would receive the largest checks at $ 1.65 a bushel for a total of $ 3.6 billion. China is the world's largest buyer of US soybeans, buying about 60% of the US crop. But since Beijing imposed a 25% tariff on soybeans, import prices have dropped.
The lack of details about how the calculations were done has left farmers scratching their heads.
Asked about the confusion, Rob Johansson, Chief Economist of the Department of Agriculture, replied that the USDA had taken into account a number of factors "including the share of exported production and the value of trade directly affected by the retaliatory measures ".
"The level of damage is not the same for each product," he said in a written response to questions submitted by the Associated Press.
He estimated that there would be more than 784,000 relief requests.
The USDA has since released a detailed analysis of how the department has performed its calculations.
The collapse has stunned corn and wheat farmers who say payments are uneven and will not do much to keep struggling farms afloat.
A lobby group representing wheat producers is questioning how the administration determines the payments for wheat producers, who must receive 14 cents a bushel. Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Wheat Producers Association, said the USDA had assumed that US wheat would be sold to China this year when it made its calculations. But the hypothesis was wrong, he said.
China is generally applying for US wheat between March and June. US wheat producers have sold an average of 20 million bushels of wheat to China over the last three years. But none came this year, Goule said, as Trump intensified his threatening rhetoric about trade with Beijing. He hopes the rate per bushel of wheat will increase if there is a second round of payments.
"I'm sure we will not be selling wheat in China this year," said Goule. "The window we are selling is gone and gone."
The response among farmers has been mixed. While some are grateful for the help, most strongly hope that trade disputes will be resolved quickly.
"Nobody wants to have a package of help – I mean, if you're a farmer, you're producing a crop – we just want a fair price for that," said Joel Schreurs, soybean producer. and corn near Tyler. in southwestern Minnesota, which sits on the board of the American Soybean Association and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.
His personal operation is about 1,000 acres. He grows 500 additional acres with his son-in-law and other members of his family. He estimates that customs duties would cost him between $ 40,000 and $ 50,000 in lost revenue and that he would receive $ 16,000 to $ 20,000 in emergency assistance.
Schreurs fears that it will be difficult for farmers to recover the buyers that they will lose because of the trade wars. "And in the short term, we need to find another home for these beans, otherwise they will accumulate and it will keep prices down," he said.
In the Midwest, growers usually grow corn and soybeans. These farmers would receive payments under the program, which began enrollment on September 4.
Perdue said the controls could start as early as the end of September for harvests already harvested. Payments are based on performance.
In a recent C-SPAN interview, Perdue said he understood producers' frustrations.
"Farmers are still living in unpredictable times," he said. "They are very resilient, but obviously, the longer the commercial problems last, the longer their impact on the future."
Jack Maloney says that farmers will receive so little financial assistance that for about 200,000 bushels of corn, a farmer would receive only about $ 2,000 for his losses.
"That's not even money from beer," said corn and soybean producer Brownsburg, Indiana.
Maloney, 62, began working full time in 1978 and now has two employees. He said some farmers were angry and upset.
"Agriculture has always been the target of all trade wars," he said, adding that it was not the first time that he saw trade disruptions affecting agricultural markets .
Maloney said that he had already cut back on his expenses in the past three years and that he had not taken a salary for more than a year because of the difficult situation before the beginning of the trade war. He said the recent tumult had wiped out hopes of stabilizing agricultural markets in the near future.
"We were seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel – the markets were improving a bit," he said, "and then this tariff situation has occurred and this trade war".
Daniel Weinand fears that the slowdown in the market is the death knell of his farm. Weinand, 30, grows corn, canola and yellow peas on 900 acres of leased land near Hazen, North Dakota. He said he hoped to harvest about 30,000 bushels of corn and receive about $ 300 worth of help.
"A penny a bushel of corn is not that it's worthless, but it's almost the case," he said. "I do not know how many more years I will be able to pass."
Richard Lardner in Washington, Rick Callahan in Indianapolis and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
Source link
