Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 8/24/18



USDA is expected to outline on Friday the details of its previously announced $12 billion assistance plan for farmers hurt by other countries’ responses to the tariffs President Trump has put in place globally.

Based on some details of the package leaked early to Agri-Pulse, there would seem to be relatively little assistance left for hog farmers and others after the soybean farmers have been addressed.

According to Agri-Pulse, quoting officials “close to the decision-making process,” the payment rate for soybean farmers has been proposed at $1.65 per bushel, with 1 cent per bushel proposed for corn farmers. The amount paid out to any given farmer would be a calculation of production multiplied by the payment rate.

That rate could change, as the proposal still is under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. However, the payment rate for soybean farmers would capture the bulk of that part of the $12 billion total package earmarked for direct cash payouts, or the “Market Facilitation Program.” Whatever is left would be divvied up between producers of corn, sorghum, wheat, cotton, dairy and hogs.

The assistance plan will be organized into three parts: The Market Facilitation Program, a Food Purchase and Distribution Program through which USDA will purchase surplus commodities that would have been exported if not for tariffs, and a Trade Promotion Program, through which USDA, in concert with industry, will work to develop new foreign markets for U.S. agricultural goods.

Agri-Pulse quoted a USDA spokesperson as saying, “USDA will not confirm what Agri-Pulse is reporting, because it is based on preliminary information, is incomplete, and lacks context. The final rule is still undergoing the rule-making process, and so any information reported at this stage may turn out to be inaccurate. Further, it may do a disservice to stakeholders to supply them with information that is not in its final form."

Jim Monroe, senior communications director for the National Pork Producers Council, told Meatingplace in an email, “It’s premature to comment as the specifics of the program have not been announced. We’ll be happy to share our thoughts once it has.”

Officials of the U.S. Soybean Association told Agri-Pulse that a $1.65 payment rate for soybeans was in line with their expectations, given the losses that their members have suffered so far. China is the largest foreign market for U.S. soybeans.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.