It has been over two months since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed through the House of Representatives and was signed by President Trump. It has been almost two months since people started seeing economic stimulus funds going into their bank accounts. Life is slowly getting back to normal, depending on your location. However, many are saying that there is still a need for one more round of assistance. Farmers are starting to see their checks coming from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), but there is still a lot of help needed in agriculture as well. The question is, ?Will there be more help coming??
Signs and rumblings in D.C. are pointing to the possibility of another pandemic aid package possibly coming in July. Farmers and ranchers around the country say they are still needing that help. Away from agriculture, jobless benefits will run out next month, and cities and states are facing budget shortfalls. This is not just a rural or urban issue. American Farm Bureau?s Andrew Walmsley talks about the slow reopening process that is going on around the country.
There have been bills already introduced in the House to try and get more funding for agriculture. These bills have price tags of $50 billion and higher. The House passed the $3 trillion Heroes Act, which also includes a Renewable Fuel Reimbursement Program. The Senate?s reception of the bill has been lukewarm at best. Geoff Cooper is the President & CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. He says that they are urging the Senate to take up the bill as the biofuels industry has been hit hard and not received much help at all.
The Senate failed to include reimbursement help for the grain buys made by biofuels plants. This happened after the oil industry also failed to secure any assistance.
Not only is the pandemic causing problems for grains and biofuels, but we have all heard the stories of the challenges for livestock producers and the slowdown of meat processing. Andrew Walmsley says that what stresses are being faced by producers is absolutely heartbreaking and that, hopefully, things will recover soon.
CFAP did not provide much in the way of resources to cover the costs of euthanizing unprocessed animals. The USDA will give assistance to farmers who have to euthanize animals because of a disease outbreak, but their hands are tied when it comes to the destruction of healthy animals because of processing backlogs. Iowa Representative Steve King (R-4th) introduced a bill aimed at giving the USDA the needed authorization to indemnify producers for the animals they had to destroy.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that more overall help could be coming in July, as Republicans assess gains in the CARES Act. The Senate is expected to pass a narrower version of a measure that House passed to ease limits for small business loan forgiveness.
The American people in the cities and the farms are waiting to see if another round of help that some so desperately need will be coming.
