Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
It started at the end of August with postcards arriving in farmers and landowner’s mailboxes around Whitman County.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue launched a trade mitigation package Sept. 4 aimed at assisting farmers due to trade retaliation after new U.S. tariffs on imports put in by the Trump administration.
The USDA’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP) offers 14 cents on half of the 2018 production of wheat.
“Am I happy about it? Not really. I’d rather have a healthy market,” said Gary Bailey, a third-generation St. John farmer and chairman of the board for Washington Grain Commission. “But the administration is acknowledging that they are causing disruption.”
Under the program, for example, a hundred acres at 75 bushels per acre would warrant a payment of $525.
“It’s not huge,” Bailey said. “In my opinion, if someone is really struggling, is it enough to keep above water? I don’t know. Every little bit helps.”
Farmers may apply by filling out a form with the Colfax office of the USDA’s Farm Services Agency (FSA). Payments are limited to a combined $125,000 for corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans and wheat capped per person or legal entity. MFP payments are also limited to a combined $125,000 for dairy and hog producers.
Payments of this type in the past have gone to farmers in the event of natural disasters.
“We have not had one like this before,” said Fred Hendrickson, Whitman County FSA director, who has worked in the Colfax office since 1979.
The program was announced in the first week of September, near the same time the Trump administration and Mexico said they are near a bilateral deal to replace NAFTA, which Canada is a part of too. Discussions with Canada to join a pending new deal with the U.S. and Mexico may yet materialize. Mexico is a large market for U.S. wheat.
“The administration has said it will make new agreements and they seem to have their nose to the grindstone,” said Bailey, who was among those in July who went to hear Perdue speak at the McGregor Co. offices at Mockonema.
At the meeting, Perdue told those assembled that he aimed for a target of Labor Day to announce any aid response for farmers on the trade and tariffs matters.
“I really like him,” Bailey said of Perdue. “I think he’s a great spokesman for agriculture, I do believe he’s got the president’s ear.”
Farmers are advised to call ahead for an appointment if they plan to come to the Colfax FSA office to apply for the program. “All we need from a producer is their net bushels,” said Hendrickson, referring to statements issued from grain elevator companies which take in a grower’s wheat during harvest.
The sign-up period runs through Jan. 15, 2019. Applicants must also have an average adjusted gross income for tax years 2014, 2015 and 2016 of less than $900,000. They must also comply with the provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.
“We’re processing these (applications) now and we’ll probably start sending payments later in the week,” Hendrickson said.
In December, the USDA will announce whether it will pay on the second half of the 2018 wheat production. As producers of certain commodities sign up for the MFP, the USDA will also begin to buy identified commodities under a food purchase and distribution program.
The Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) aims to help American farmers find and access new markets for their products.
In total, the USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in these efforts.
“These programs will allow President Trump time to strike long-term trade deals to benefit our entire economy, including the agricultural sector, in the long run,” Perdue said in a statement. “Farmers will tell you that they would always prefer to sell a good crop at a fair price, rather than receive government aid, and that’s what long-term trade deals will accomplish. But in the meantime, President Trump has promised that he will not allow American agriculture to bear the brunt of the unjustified retaliation from foreign nations.”
Aside from wheat, the FSA will administer the MFP to provide payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum and soybean producers.
Further, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will administer a food purchase and distribution program to buy up to $1.2 billion in commodities targeted by tariff retaliation.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will distribute these commodities through nutrition assistance programs, such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program and child nutrition programs.
Also, through the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP), $200 million will be made available to develop new foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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