MONROE — For Green County Farm Bureau President Ben Huber, a recent announcement by the federal government to provide farmers with aid may not be a negative provision, but it doesn’t provide a permanent answer to an ongoing problem.
“While welcomed, and it will certainly be useful, it isn’t a solution,” Huber said.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced July 24 that he was directed by President Donald Trump to create a short-term strategy of relief for farming communities. The goal would be to create $12 billion in aid, in line with roughly $11 billion in anticipated retaliatory tariffs from other countries.
Perdue included in his statement that Trump understands the importance of keeping the rural economy strong and outlined three programs meant to assist farmers.
The Market Facilitation Program, administered by the Farm Service Agency, will include incremental payments to producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, and farmers who oversee dairy and hog operations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has laid out this program as one which supports local farmers to manage against disruptions within the global agricultural market, commodity surpluses and to expand into new regional markets throughout the world.
Another is the Food Purchase and Distribution Program administered through the Agricultural Marketing Service. The program will allow for surplus fruit, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork and milk that would have been exchanged in the markets to be purchased and distributed throughout food banks and other programs.
The Trade Promotion Program will be overseen by the Foreign Ag Service and help from the private sector. Its main priority will be to help develop new export markets for the U.S.
And while Huber said the funding would not necessarily be refused, “it’s not something that’s sustainable.”
Doug Rebout, president of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, felt similarly about the announced aid. He said he and fellow farmers appreciate help, but it cannot fix the market permanently and compared the funding to putting “a band-aid on a really deep cut.”
“This isn’t something we can do over and over again with taxpayer money,” Rebout said. “We’d rather sell our product than have the aid. … It’s no long-term solution.”
Huber pointed to a stabilizing of markets and consistent trade as the true answer. He said the country needs to keep negotiating to establish better markets and that government representatives need to continue to foster market relationships and listen to the farmers they represent.
“We’re in a tight spot right now,” he said, referring to the farming industry struggling for profits over an extended amount of time.
According to a USDA report on Wisconsin 2017 crop production, corn, soybeans, all hay and alfalfa production had decreased from 2016. Milk prices have dropped or remained stagnant in the first half of the year. In reports by the USDA, the state milk price was $16.30 per hundredweight, or just under 12 gallons, in January, starting out with a $1.50 lower payout than in December.
That was $3 lower than in January 2017. The latest numbers from June show farmers received $16.50 per hundredweight for milk, which is 20 cents lower than in May and $1.40 lower than in June 2017.
Rebout said running a 4,000-acre dairy farm and growing cash crops on a tight budget is a part of farm life. However, a bad market hurts more than just farmers, noting the community has less economic activity if producers are unable to pay for anything other than bills.
“We’re not able to get our updates,” Rebout said. “We’re getting our bills paid, and some are picking and choosing what bills they’re paying. … We’re just looking to get paid a decent wage for our products so we can pay our bills and make our updates. We just want to be able to make a decent living.”