Farmers Await Details of Aid Package

OMAHA (DTN) -- As farmers wait for an announcement of another aid package, critics of current tariff policies continue to try to rally support for expanding markets and mitigating some of the damage done.

President Donald Trump and members of his administration continue to tease that an aid package of up to $15 billion for farmers could be announced this week.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, told DTN Political Correspondent Jerry Hagstrom on Tuesday that the Trump administration received $13 billion in late December to replenish the Commodity Credit Corp. so it could prepare for an aid package.

"They can use the $13 billion," Hoeven said, adding that he had worked with the White House Office of Management and Budget to make sure the money is available.

On Monday, more than 200 farm organizations wrote the president to thank him for focusing on issues facing rural America while also pressing the need for financial aid. The letter noted that some of the benefits of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act won't show up until next year. "In the meantime, growers continue to face enormously challenging market conditions," the groups wrote.

The letter highlighted rising bankruptcies and called on the president to continue championing both greater exports and domestic market expansion. The letter also called for additional aid.

"We know that building markets takes time, and while our producers do not want to be in the position of having to ask for more assistance, they do need a bridge to get to improved markets," the letter stated.

In a separate letter, organizations backing fruit and vegetable growers also raised their own concerns about finances and asked to be included in an aid program.

Asked about details of an aid package, a USDA spokesperson said there were no specifics to report but reiterated the president's support for farmers.

"President Trump is the most pro-farmer president of our lifetime, and through his leadership, the administration is supporting farmers through unprecedented international market access, lowered taxes, and improvements to the farm safety net in the One Big Beautiful Bill," the USDA spokesperson stated. "Currently, the farm economy is in a difficult situation, and President Trump is utilizing all the tools available to ensure farmers have what they need to continue their farming operations. President Trump has made it clear he will not leave farmers behind, so USDA will continue to assess the farm economy and explore the need for further assistance; however, there is nothing new to share at this time."

FARMERS FOR FREE TRADE PRESS ON TARIFFS

In Michigan on Tuesday, Farmers for Free Trade held a press conference as the group continues to hold events across agricultural areas to highlight damage caused by tariffs.

Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said soybeans have been front and center in the debate, but there is a cascading effect on other crops as well. He and others pointed to dry edible black beans, for instance, as well as some specialty crops such as apples, cherries and asparagus.

"For us here, it's more than just soybeans. It's the dry bean market. It's a lot of our fruits and vegetables. We've seen decreased exports in a number of our specialty crops," Boring said.

When produce such as apples is not being exported out of the Pacific Northwest, Boring said that creates a ripple effect on sales for Michigan farms. It also causes other countries to respond.

"That market access can be destroyed very quickly, and we've seen how other countries are more than willing to come in, adapt their local production infrastructure capacity to meet the international market and ultimately ice the United States out of some of those relationships that we've built over time here," Boring said.

Despite prospects of a record national corn crop, Boring said yields in Michigan and other states are down. "Farmers are not going to be yielding their way to prosperity this year," Boring said. "Even in the face of some of these diminished economic returns and market potential, farmers right now are making decisions on what they're going to be planting next year."

Chuck Lippstreu, executive director of the Michigan Agribusiness Association, said exports underpin much of the state's rural economic success. He called on the Trump administration to continue prioritizing talks with China, Canada and Mexico.

"We're raising our voice to make sure everyone out there knows the critical importance of export markets for Michigan agriculture."

TRUMP MEETS WITH CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER

At the White House on Tuesday, tariffs in agriculture came up as President Trump criticized some Canadian duties on U.S. agricultural products during his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trump pointed to tariffs that mainly affect some dairy products as Canada seeks to maintain its supply management programs for dairy farmers.

"Canada was charging us very high tariffs on our agricultural things -- a lot of our agricultural products, and that's one of the things we talk about is bringing that down," Trump said.

Despite the expected announcement on an aid package, no mention was made of the package during press questions with Trump and Carney. Trump said he thinks the U.S. is doing well in its negotiations with China and has an upper hand in the tariff dispute. He noted he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea.

"To do well with China, you have to compete, or you're not going to do well with China," Trump said.

Carney, whose farmers also have similar tariff challenges with China over canola, added, "We'll do better together."

AFBF ANALYSIS

The American Farm Bureau Federation, in a Market Intel report on Monday, said expenses "remain stubbornly high, leaving farmers with very few options beyond drawing down equity, tapping reservices or taking on more costly debt." Production expenses, at $467 billion, are at record levels. Expenses nationally are more than $100 billion higher than they were during the 2018-19 trade war.

AFBF projects per-acre losses this year of $169.31 for corn, $114.15 for soybeans, $111.64 for wheat and $379 for cotton.

As AFBF's analysis noted, higher farm safety net programs passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act won't begin paying out until a year from now under the Agricultural Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC) programs.

FARMER ECONOMICS RIGHT NOW

Even though there is economic uncertainty, Boring said lenders in Michigan, at least, are saying that farmers remain in stronger financial shape than in other states due to diversification and a strong livestock sector.

"A lot of farmers, I think, are starting from a pretty healthy financial position," Boring said.

There are parallels to the 1980s farm crisis, Boring noted, but overall, he said, farmers have stronger balance sheets now.

"Of course, there's a wide spectrum here. There are some farms that probably aren't in as strong of an initial starting point here and are not as well-positioned with capital assets to weather a long duration of an economic downturn."

Still, Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, said farmers in general went into this trade war in a weakened financial situation because of low commodity prices and high input costs.

"That's a recipe for disaster," he said.

Kuehl called for a tariff exemption for imported farm machinery and parts to help reduce some costs for farmers. He also challenged the notion of "short-term pain for long-term gain" in trade talks as "fundamentally flawed." Kuehl pointed out how Brazil and Argentina have taken advantage of the situation.

"If we don't do this right, we can lose markets forever, and we can find ourselves in a much-weakened competitive position," Kuehl said.

Also see "Farmer Aid Package From White House Expected Soon" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

DTN Political Correspondent Jerry Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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