Tuesday, August 28, 2018

USDA to pay commodity and hog farmers $4.7 billion to compensate for effects of trade war with China

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced more details Monday of the program meant to help commodity farmers suffering from the effects of the trade war with China. Soybean farmers will receive most of the combined $4.7 billion in funds from "market facilitation payments." Sign-ups to receive the funds will begin Sept. 4, but farmers will have to show how much their farms produced, Chris Clayton reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

Payments are based on 50 percent of a farmer's production this year, multiplied by the payment rates below:
  • Soybeans: $1.65 a bushel; total payments expected, $3.7 billion
  • Sorghum: 86 cents a bushel; total payments expected, $156 million
  • Wheat: 14 cents a bushel; total payments expected, $119 million
  • Corn: 1 cent a bushel; total payments expected, $96 million
  • Cotton: 6 cents a pound; total payments expected, $277 million
Hog farmers will be paid $8 a head for 50 percent of the pigs they owned on Aug. 1, with total pork producer payments expected to reach $290 million, Clayton reports. The money comes from USDA's Commodity Credit Corp., which is authorized by law to borrow up to $30 billion to help adjust agricultural markets.

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