In a time of financial stress for many farmers across the country, the $12 billion bridge assistance payments that were recently announced are welcome relief for many. However, $11 billion dollars of the relief payments are being distributed to row crop farmers, leaving many other producers on the outside looking in. U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse, a farmer himself, says that specialty crop growers are one sector of agriculture that are feeling forgotten about.
Newhouse also acknowledges that while the payments are welcome in a time of tight margins, farmers would rather sell their goods in the marketplace than receive direct payments from the federal government.
Farmers who qualify for the Farm Bridge Assistance Program can expect payments to be disbursed by the end of February, according to the USDA.
