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When? donald trump Jean Staehli, who promised new tariffs when running for president, was worried that his international sales of corn, soybeans and wheat would be jeopardized by trade disputes.
A little more than a year later, Staehli said his fears have become reality, and Trump’s latest promise of federal aid is insufficient to cover farmers’ losses.
“Maybe it’ll all get better in the end, but I can tell you right now, it’s definitely not the case at this point,” Staehli said.
Trump announced Monday that his administration will distribute $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers who have been hit by persistently low commodity prices, rising costs and declining sales. China stop all agricultural purchases from America During the trade war.
While rural areas remain conservative strongholds, farmers’ patience remains intact Washington Wearing thin. Many of them described the government bailout, echoing similar policies during Trump’s first term, as a welcome milestone, but it would not solve the agriculture industry’s problems.
“This is a bridge. This is not the ultimate solution we’re looking for,” said Charlie Redman, a fourth-generation farmer who grows corn and soybeans on land his family has owned since 1899 near Randolph, Minnesota. “What we really want is a little more certainty and not have to rely on these ad-hoc payments.”
Farmers caught in trade war
U.S. soybean and sorghum farmers typically export at least half their crops. They were hit hardest by Trump’s trade dispute with China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans, which has become increasingly dependent on the crop from Brazil and other South American countries.
Trump and his cabinet have boasted about the agreement with the Chinese President Xi Jinping In October. But Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said this week that “agriculture trade cooperation between China and the United States is progressing in an orderly manner”.
So far, China has bought only a quarter of the 12 million metric tons of soybeans that U.S. officials said would be purchased before the end of February, raising doubts over whether Beijing will follow through on pledges or commitments to buy 25 million metric tons annually over the next three years. China has not confirmed those numbers.
“Generally, I don’t trust their intentions and the sincerity of their promises,” said Bryant Kagay, who farms in northwest Missouri.
Even if China buys the agreed amount of U.S. soybeans, it will still bring U.S. farmers closer to the amount they were selling each year before Trump took office.
That’s why Minnesota farmer Glenn Groth said he “would like to see the administration focus more on opening markets outside of China.” In addition to finding other international buyers, agriculture groups are pushing to expand domestic uses such as biodiesel, ethanol, aviation fuel and animal feed.
Dan Keitzer, a soybean and corn farmer in southeast Iowa, said recent bumper crops and technological advances producing larger crops mean the industry needs more customers.
“I think most farmers will tell you they don’t want to go to a mailbox and get a check from the government. That’s why we don’t farm,” he said. “We need more demand for our product.”
Help is considered a Band-Aid
Trump has satisfied farmers in the past also by giving them money. During his first term, he provided $22 billion in 2019 to help deal with trade disputes with China. It was $46 billion in 2020, an expanded number that reflects financial challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $12 billion he announced this week will do little to ease farmers’ fears about the future. They are already ordering supplies for next year’s crops and meeting with their bankers to discuss the loans they will need. But they are trying to remain optimistic that crop prices will improve if they find more buyers.
Assistance payments will be capped at $155,000 per farmer or entity, and only farms that earn less than $900,000 in adjusted gross income will be eligible. But earlier during the Trump administration, many big farms found ways around the payment limits and collected millions.
Farmers would like to see Trump aggressively deal with concerns about high costs that are hurting their income.
Trump signed an executive order over the weekend directing the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate anti-competitive practices elsewhere in the food supply chain, including the fertilizers, seeds and equipment that farmers rely on and continuing to deal with meat packing companies and grocers that help determine what prices consumers pay.
Tregg Cronin, who farms and ranches with his family in central South Dakota, said he’s grateful for the president’s acknowledgment that farmers are “caught in the middle” of the trade war.
But he said any checks farmers receive from the government will likely be “passed through and sent straight out the door.”
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Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.