Lawmakers from both the House and Senate have fired off letters to USDA and the White House urging changes to the ag aid to be doled out by USDA.
Much of the attention focuses on the payment limit USDA announced of $125,000 per commodity and a total of $250,000 per person or entity. Lawmakers argue some growers will quickly hit those limits – like cattle, dairy and specialty crop producers – and that will deny them much-needed assistance as those operations will quickly hit the limit.
Action to help the U.S. hog industry is being pushed by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and others, including steps to deal with any potential euthanizing of animals that cannot be shipped off to market. Pressure is mounting on USDA to make changes to its aid package as the details are being finalized, but some provisions are not seen changing.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said that it has learned USDA could shift funds between the various commodities, some self-certification of losses may take place by producers, govern program payments will not factor into the aid and there still will not be any ethanol aid in the initial effort.
Welcome
