Farmers and ranchers are on their way to receiving $14.5 billion in trade war payments on their 2019 production, but that aid is skewed toward large farms and Southern states, said the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday. The highest payment rates per acre are in six states — Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana — said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in an updated analysis of the administration’s Market Facilitation Program.
“While farmers need help in order to weather the trade uncertainty caused by the administration, the aid continues to favor large farms and the South over those hit the hardest,” said Stabenow. The new analysis followed the release this week of the final $3.6 billion in MFP payments. In November, Stabenow criticized the formula used by the USDA to award the payments as benefiting regions that experienced less trade damage than others, and she called for changes. There were none, said the new critique.
The “phase one” agreement with China does not guarantee that farmers will recover lost market access, said Stabenow. Nor does it guarantee the permanent removal of tariffs on U.S. farm products.
As of Monday, the USDA had sent $10.9 billion in MFP payments to farmers. The top five states for total payments are Iowa, with $1.2 billion; Illinois, $1.1 billion; Texas, $826 million; Minnesota, $808 million; and Kansas, $761 million. Iowa is the top corn and pork producer. Illinois is often first in soybeans, and Texas is the top cotton and cattle state.
To read Stabenow’s analysis, click here.