On top of a second round of payments to farmers as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 trade relief program, the agency is trying to ease the impact by purchasing surplus food and distributing it to food banks and other hunger relief groups.
The USDA announced in July it would borrow up to $12 billion dollars through a to counteract Chinese and other countries鈥� tariffs on American farm products. In recent weeks, China has resumed buying soybeans, but the uncertain situation has made it hard for farmers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to plan when you鈥檙e really unsure of how great your loss was gonna be this year,鈥� said Robert Johnston, who farms in Clearwater, Nebraska. 鈥淧rofitability is kind of a stretch of the imagination.鈥�
Johnston estimates the relief payments will cover about half of the potential earnings he lost when Chinese tariffs took effect and soybean prices plummeted. The first payment, , covered half of farmers鈥� production in 2018. The second, and final, payment will cover the rest.
鈥淲hile there have been positive movements on the trade front, American farmers are continuing to experience losses due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations,鈥� Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement. 鈥淭his assistance will help with short-term cash flow issues as we move into the new year.鈥�
The breakdown of payments includes $7.3 billion for soybean producers, but a fraction of that for other commodities such as corn ($192 million), cotton ($554 million), and wheat ($238 million).
The food left behind
Another $1.2 billion is that will be shipped to food banks.
Some purchases that were scheduled to begin shipment this month include , , nearly and .
Pork is one of the industries the most affected by Chinese tariffs, and it鈥檚 the biggest item on the USDA鈥檚 purchase list at $558.8 million.
But one of the most coveted food items by Scott Young, executive director of the Food Bank of Lincoln in Nebraska, is fresh produce.
鈥淭he more produce we can add to the food we distribute the better,鈥� Young said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 healthier. It鈥檚 not as accessible to low-income people.鈥�
Young says the food shipments from the trade relief program are free. Rather than take the opportunity to hold back on purchasing food, though, his organization plans to find room on shelves and in freezers and get it to people who can use it as soon as possible.
鈥淲e will distribute this food in addition to the food we鈥檝e already got budgeted,鈥� Young said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 icing on the cake for the Food Bank of Lincoln.鈥�
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