Coronavirus question: Spend more on food aid or farm aid?
Farmers and ranchers will need billions of dollars in coronavirus aid beyond the $16 billion in cash that USDA plans to disburse by June, 28 senators said in a letter to President Trump. At the same time, a band of university economists said USDA aid is weighted 4-to-1 toward producers and that the agency "should arguably show an equivalent amount of creativity to help the broader spectrum of struggling Americans with food needs."(No paywall)
House bill mirrors Senate on farm bankruptcy update
The so-called Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy rules would be revised by companion bills in Congress that would triple, to $10 million, the amount of debt that could be reorganized. A House version of the bill is sponsored by six representatives, including House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson. It was filed three weeks after a Senate bill whose sponsors include Finance chairman Chuck Grassley.
Farm bankruptcy rates to continue to rise
The drop in farm income and erosion in farmland values are early signs that the farm bankruptcy rate, now at a low 2 per 10,000 farms, is on the rise, said associate professor Ani Katchova of Ohio State University. The rise will be constrained by the strong equity position of the sector and the benefit of off-farm income for many operators, she said at USDA's annual Outlook Forum.