Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 4/13/20

The president on Friday said he's lighting a fire under USDA to get payments out to agricultural producers as soon as possible, with a focus on "smaller farmers who are very, very badly hurting right now." Trump asked Secretary Sonny Perdue to "expedite" relief for the industry and to keep the food supply chain flowing smoothly amid massive financial and logistical hurdles.

"We are going to be working with the small farmers, the big farmers, the cattlemen, the ranchers, all of the producers," Trump said at a news conference on Friday.

Congress last month authorized USDA to spend more than $23 billion to keep farmers and ranchers afloat.

The department since then has been consulting outside economists and fielding ideas from industry groups about the best way to disperse funds across the vast farm economy. And while Trump said "at least $16 billion" is on the way, the potential details of the coming aid package remain murky.

For example, payments to farmers could be made in multiple tranches, like USDA's trade bailout checks, allowing officials to adjust course as needed. The department also has several pots of funding to tap — namely, $9.5 billion in direct aid for producers allocated to Perdue's office, plus a $14 billion infusion into the Depression-era agency tasked with stabilizing the farm economy — which each come with varying but vague guidelines.

More options in the mix: White House officials are also working with Perdue on potential regulatory changes, like lowering minimum wage rates for foreign ag laborers, NPR reports. Such a move could offer some financial relief for farm owners, but it would also slam farmworkers already in a vulnerable situation.

On the flip side, some labor, ag and environmental groups have called on lawmakers and regulators to install stronger protections for food industry workers and farm laborers in the next stimulus package or through administrative action.