The hope is that we will start to see some of those USDA checks getting to Farmers by the end of the month. The $16 billion in funding is just a drop in the bucket compared to the damage the agriculture industry is facing each day during this pandemic. The farmers need all the help they can get, and more may be on the way.
While any help is considered good news, American Farm Bureau Federation?s Andrew Walmsley says that not even the good news is that great.
Walmsley said there are members of Congress already making moves to secure more funding for the Ag sector.
The current USDA package had a $125,000 per commodity limit that has just been changed to $250,000 by U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, Walmsley says more is still needed.
There is still a need for the Ethanol industry, which was not included in the USDA package. Also, the second round of funding for paycheck protection and small business loans has been exhausted with demand still being high. The next few days and weeks in Congress should see some more action coming.
