Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 4/25/20

A group of bipartisan senators is asking the Trump administration to remove limits on the amount of direct coronavirus relief that farmers can receive under USDA's new aid package, writes Pro Ag's Ryan McCrimmon.

The $19 billion farm rescue plan that President Donald Trump and Secretary Sonny Perdue rolled out last week includes $16 billion in direct payments to farmers, capped at $125,000 per commodity and $250,000 per person. That's in line with payment limits in the 2018 farm bill.

In a letter to Trump, 28 senators led by Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the limits could disproportionately hurt some of the hardest hit corners of agriculture, like livestock, dairy and specialty crop producers. They're asking USDA to scrap the payment limits for those groups before it finalizes the aid program, which Perdue is aiming to launch in May.

For example, fresh produce growers have higher production costs than other farmers, like strawberry growers who can spend around $30,000 per acre. That means the current payment limits are "too restrictive to meaningfully address the losses" they're facing, the senators wrote.

Meanwhile, livestock and dairy producers often don't grow other commodities, so they're more likely to hit the lower $125,000 cap while farmers who grow multiple crops could get twice as much.

But, but, but: Perdue has already said there isn't enough money to assist all corners of the industry that need financial help.

Removing payment limits could be a further drain on the limited funds.

Speaking of more money... House members filed a bipartisan bill to give USDA an extra $50 billion to help struggling farmers. The massive infusion would be provided directly to Perdue's office without strings attached, except for one: no caps on the farm payments.