On Friday, President Trump and the United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue detailed a plan to help American agriculture get through this COVID-19 Pandemic. The package has a high price tag to the tune of $19 billion. Of that, $16 billion will be direct aid to farmers and the remaining $3 billion will be in commodity purchases that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be making to help support food banks as well as keep the market sustained a little while further. While the price seems steep, one must wonder if it is going to be enough.
Nineteen billion dollars is a lot of money. However, as the figures are coming in over how much this pandemic is affecting each sector of agriculture, we are seeing that this nineteen billion may only be a drop in the bucket. The cattle industry is claiming losses of $14 billion dollars on their own. The ethanol industry says it is bleeding money. Corn is in the tank, and hogs are right behind. Vegetable and fruit growers are leaving their products in the field to rot.
Andrew Walmsley of the American Farm Bureau Federation says that this $19 billion in aid is more like a ?Phase 1? in assistance to the industry.
National Cattlemen?s Beef Association CEO Collin Woodall said it best when he said farmers are having to make stressful choices. It isn?t just beef farmers, but producers across the country. Woodall says the U.S. government needs to be aware of the well-being of rural America as well.
There are likely votes coming very soon on another $100 billion to help fund hospitals and equipment to combat this disease. Congress is also looking at another $300 billion to replenish the funding for small business assistance that quickly dried up.
While the thought is that more will be needed to help keep agriculture solvent in these times, NCBA?s Woodall says they want to see how effectively the first $19 billion is used before they ask for anything further. However, don?t be surprised if more will be needed.
