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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Monday, September 09, 2024
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.
Pressure is mounting on USDA not to limit the payments that individual producers can get through the Trump administration’s COVID-19 relief package. According to information released by a key senator, USDA has been planning to cap the payments at $125,000 per commodity per individual farmer or $250,000 for all commodities.
The House on Thursday cleared a $484 billion COVID-19 relief bill that will replenish the Paycheck Protection Program with an additional $320 billion and make farms eligible for a separate disaster loan program for small businesses.
USDA reports released Thursday show China has purchased another 1,400 metric tons of U.S. beef and 272,000 tons of U.S. soybeans, demonstrating importers are successfully getting exemptions to the country’s tariffs.
A fresh round of COVID-19 relief should be available to small businesses and farms very soon. The House is set today to clear legislation that will add $321 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, which has been out of money for a week.
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.
Expectations for U.S. beef exports to China this year are being tempered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but shipments have already begun and they’re expected to continue strong despite the spread of the virus.
The Senate OKs a bipartisan agreement to infuse the highly popular Paycheck Protection Program with an additional $320 billion while also making farms eligible for a separate disaster loan program for small businesses.