NFU says MFP benefited large-scale farms and southeastern Farmers

by | Nov 14, 2019 | 5 Ag Stories, News

With the second tranche of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments moving, the National Farmers Union (NFU) talked about what they saw as disproportionate benefits to large farms and farmers in the southeastern United States.

NFU President Roger Johnson says the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) used arbitrary means to determine county rates. He says the difference in assistance could vary from neighbor to neighbor.

Johnson says the payments seem to only benefit the largest of operations, while smaller farms are left more vulnerable. NFU claims the process USDA used to determine how payments are calculated, means more millionaires will be able to take advantage of payments which could help the declining number of small and medium-sized operations from going under.

The NFU also says the preferential treatment wasn?t just based on economics, but on geography. A press release says the farmers hit hardest by the trade wars, have not gotten the most help.

?Although farmers in the North, Midwest, and West have experienced the greatest harm from trade disputes, 95 percent of counties receiving the highest payment rates are based in the Southeast.?

NFU President Johnson says while the MFP payments do help to soften the blow, it is not an economic solution. Farmers can most benefit from stable markets and fair prices.

Johnson calls on President Trump to work with Congress for the benefit of all farms across the whole country.