Already reeling from tariff war, some farmers aren't receiving government support checks amid shutdo
Source: Washington Post
National
Already reeling from tariff war, some farmers arent receiving government support checks amid shutdown
By Annie Gowen, Jeff Stein and Sean Sullivan
January 9 at 9:00 AM
BASKERVILLE, Va. The government check hadnt arrived, and John Boyd was out of seeds. ... So he left his family farm here in southern Virginia on Tuesday and went to the local Farm Service Agency office, a last-ditch attempt to see if any essential personnel with the U.S. Department of Agriculture were still working. He was hoping they could help, even with the partial federal government shutdown stretching to its 19th day.
The Trump administration had promised to help farmers like Boyd, those who suffered as a result of the international trade war after Chinese purchases of soybeans once 60 percent of the market plummeted to next to nothing. With farmers on the edge of ruin, the U.S. government offered $12 billion in support since September, checks that had become a lifeline.
But with the government shutdown moving into its third week, Boyd was left waiting for his support check to arrive. Other farmers who still must have their crop totals approved by the government to receive aid were left with no way to apply for it.
The delay has been the latest blow to a soybean farming community of more than 300,000 that has suffered steep price declines and bad weather, leaving some to contemplate switching crops for the coming year or getting out of farming altogether.
....
Stein and Sullivan reported from Washington. Juliet Eilperin in Washington contributed to this report.
Annie Gowen is a correspondent for The Washington Post's National desk. She was previously The Posts India bureau chief and has reported for The Post throughout South Asia and the Middle East since 2013. Before going to India, she was a member of The Post's social issues team covering wealth and inequality. Follow https://twitter.com/anniegowen
Jeff Stein is a policy reporter for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, Stein was a congressional reporter for Vox, where he wrote primarily about the Democratic Party and the left. In 2014, he founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. Follow https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo
Sean Sullivan has covered national politics for The Washington Post since 2012. He previously was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotlines politics blog, and has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Follow https://twitter.com/WaPoSean
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/already-reeling-from-tariff-war-farmers-arent-receiving-government-support-checks-amid-shutdown/2019/01/09/2403fca2-40a0-4cc2-8d9c-d4787edde1b4_story.html
David Fahrenthold Retweeted
https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
Because of the trade war, the administration offered soybean farmers $12 billion. Now, thanks to the shutdown, many of them aren't getting their checks.
Link to tweet
Autumn
(44,762 posts)olegramps
(8,200 posts)I don't have one ounce of sympathy for them. They overwhelming voted for this mad man.
mahatmakanejeeves
(56,897 posts)If you don't know these farmers personally, you might be making unwarranted assumptions about them.
aggiesal
(8,864 posts)Northern Virginia carried the state.
durablend
(7,416 posts)ProudMNDemocrat
(16,485 posts)Getting monies set aside for Equipment repairs, planning where to plant for the next crop, energy costs, etc.
Farmers in Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas, Nebraska, and all the other Farm states that went for Trump in 2016 should be rethinking about 2020.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)done service sales at several FSA offices in Southern Minnesota,pretty much have seen what the January thru March time frame looks like in these Offices. These are the months for Forward financing of every aspect of farming operations. Generally speaking,Seed and Fertilizer is booked in December for late March or early April delivery. Land rent has to be paid usually by the end of December and Contracts for next years Rent have to be signed and approved by the FSA office in order to be rolled into any forward financing.
And as one FSA Manager said,it is a bitch to live from one brown envelope to the next,and these folks truly believe in what they are doing.
BTW,Brown envelope is monthly Crop subsidy payment or the next installment of their loan.
hibbing
(10,076 posts)While my idiot inherited gazillionaire governor praises tiny hands. The disconnect is quite stunning.
Peace
unblock
(51,974 posts)Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)
geralmar This message was self-deleted by its author.
erlewyne
(1,115 posts)Can we imagine, Putin selling beans to China?
I always invite harassment when drinking with the farmers.
I say, how the hell can you afford equipment that costs more than
my house?
They always reply, "Easy, you paid for it!"
So I have to vote for Hillary and they vote for Putin.
progree
(10,864 posts)'Everybody is impacted': The shutdown is ruining Trump's big farmer bailout, Yahoo Finance, January 9, 2019
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/everybody-impacted-shutdown-ruining-trumps-big-farmer-bailout-222417790.html
... the government shutdown means these farmers are not receiving their payments. On top of that, farmers cant even apply for loans for next season.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)s farmer bailout program involved two installments. The first round of payments, approximately $4.7 billion, were distributed in September 2018; the second round of $9.57 billion began in December.
The deadline to apply for this aid was initially Jan. 15, 2019, though this was extended due to the government shutdown. (The program is based on the impact to an agricultural industrys export sales.) But applications cant be received if the USDA is closed.
... Farmers also cant receive their Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans, which are approved based on crop production and not historical data. With government offices closed, no one can certify production.
Additionally, as a result of the shutdown, no USDA economic data is coming out, which is usually a market driver and used to project market trends.
Its in some ways even larger than market prices, Novakovic said. Because of this market uncertainty, farmers cant yet start financing for their 2019 crops.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)I know some did not support trump and feel bad for them. Actually, being a liberal I feel bad for all of them. But elections matter.
bluestarone
(16,722 posts)Why should Farmers be treated different? I'm against special deals cut for anybody. Can the new house stop future payments? Just asking.
Yeehah
(4,524 posts)and stop begging for government handouts?
EarthFirst
(2,877 posts)Maybe go get a second, (third?) job and quit being such a burden on society and the taxpayer...
Pay your fu*king bills!
My daddy never took no dime he didnt work for...
Etc. Etc. Etc.