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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Farmers will get some welcome relief starting next month from the market impact of the coronavirus, but it will take a second round of payments to keep many in the black this year, and producers may face similar problems into next year.
Cattle, dairy and hog producers as well as corn and soybean growers are expected to collect the largest shares of USDA’s $16 billion in coronavirus relief payments, which are designed to compensate for losses in sales or market value between January and April.
Farmers can start enrolling next week for $16 billion in coronavirus relief payments, but the Agriculture Department has decided to prorate the aid to ensure there is enough money to go around, Agri-Pulse has learned.
Anti-biotech activists and sentiment are entrenched throughout Africa, but U.S. farm groups and businesses are hoping a free trade agreement with Kenya will help the country break through its GMO barriers and provide an example to other nations of what the science can do for farmers and food security.
China snapped up another 136,000 metric tons of 2019-20 U.S. soybeans this week, according to a USDA announcement Tuesday, showing the country is not letting up on purchases that go toward meeting its promises under the “phase one” trade agreement.
Grain markets barely reacted to USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released Tuesday as U.S. corn ending stocks for this marketing year are expected to grow but not as high as traders had expected.
The USDA on Thursday reported sales of 686,000 metric tons of corn to Chinese buyers, with 371,000 tons of it for delivery in the 2019-20 marketing year and the rest — 315,000 tons — in 2020-21.
More than 30 Republican and Democratic House members are proposing to include an additional $50 billion in aid to farmers in the next COVID-19 economic relief bill.
USDA’s $19 billion COVID-19 aid package for farmers may fall well short of compensating producers for the estimated damage of the pandemic, and the department has an ambitious and novel plan to distribute USDA-purchased commodities to needy people.
Friday’s announcement of $19 billion in coronavirus-related direct payments and commodity purchases was welcome news in farm country, which is reporting a growing level of stress about the pandemic.
