Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/16/19

Now that OMB has completed its regulatory review of the Agriculture Department's second trade relief program, USDA could soon reveal new details about the payment rates and when producers can start signing up for checks, your host reports.

So far, the department has kept farmers and forecasters guessingabout the new rates, which will be determined by county rather than commodity — a shift from the 2018 aid program.

Brent Gloy and David Widmar of Agricultural Economic Insights estimated on Monday that counties in the Mississippi Delta region could see the highest payment rates . That's because soybeans, one of the commodities hit hardest by the trade war, account for a large portion of crop acreage in the region.

"Outside of the Delta, the largest payment rates across the Midwest will be in the heart of the Corn Belt," Gloy and Widmar wrote. "In these areas, soybeans are driving most of the payment math while corn is pulling the weighted average lower."

Under the first trade aid program, the bulk of the direct payments were earmarked for soybean production, while corn growers received just one penny per bushel. This year, the county rates are likely to vary widely, and most producers could receive less than $50 per acre of eligible crops, the economists wrote. (Note: That might mean more grousing about disparity within the program.)

The program has been under review at the White House since early June. Ted McKinney, USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agriculture, told House lawmakers last month that "we'll have to see what comes out of the OMB" in terms of the county payment rates.

A USDA spokesperson didn't answer questions about when new information for the program will be released.