The Trump Administration announced its $12 billion plan to help farmers struggling under the escalating trade wars. Politico says there are still important details to be worked out, including just how much help farmers will get and how they’ll prove economic harm. More details are scheduled to come out after Labor Day. USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson says soybean farmers, who are big exporters, are expected to benefit the most. In addition, farmers won’t know until harvest exactly how much assistance they’ll be eligible for. The USDA is relying on mechanisms authorized under the charter act of the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is a government-owned bank used to support or stabilize prices. That means it doesn’t require approval from Congress. However, the specifics of the plan will still be subject to a federal rulemaking process. The three-part plan will aid farmers through programs that are focused on payments, purchases, and trade promotion efforts. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the plan incorporates functions of the Farm Service Agency, Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Foreign Agricultural Service.

The Trump Administration announced a $12 billion plan to provide emergency aid to farmers who are struggling under an escalating trade war with China and other trading partners. While the groups were grateful for the aid, they all pointed out this is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. John Heisdorffer, American Soybean Association President, says the best idea is to expand other markets and develop new ones to buy soybeans that America isn’t selling to China. National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl says the restrictions that American pork faces in critical markets like Mexico and China, the top two export markets last year, has placed U.S. pig farmers in dire financial straights. Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says the USDA announcement is substantial but says they cannot overstate the dire situation that farmers face because of lost export markets. Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the livelihoods of American farmers are on the line with every “tweet, threat, or tariff action that comes from the White House.” Johnson says they appreciate the stopgap assistance, but this plan is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

House Republican leaders appear to be going back on a promise to hold a vote ahead of the August recess on a conservative immigration bill that includes a new guest-worker program for farmers. Back in June, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy promised several members there would be a vote. Politico says House Republican leaders now don’t have any plans to take up the guest-worker program before the upcoming summer break. Sources tell Politico that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan doesn’t want to call a bill to the floor that might fail. Dennis Ross, a Florida Republican, says the deal was that the bill would be taken up regardless. “A lack of sufficient votes to pass shouldn’t preclude the promised vote,” Ross says. “Some of us need to go back home and show that we’re doing all we can to do what we said we would do.” Ross says if the bill fails, it fails. More than 200 Ag groups support the bill, including the American Farm Bureau Federation. A McCarthy spokesman says they have every intention of voting on the bill. But “more work needs to be done in order to gather the support necessary to pass the legislation.”

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the USDA will take several steps to assist farmers suffering from trade damage due to unjust trade retaliation. USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods. These programs will help producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets. A disproportionate number of the retaliatory tariffs were aimed directly at agricultural products. Perdue says this is a short-term solution that will allow the President more time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the U.S. economy. “The President promised to have the backs of every American farmer and he knows the importance of keeping our rural economy strong,” Perdue says. “USDA will not stand by while our agricultural producers bear the brunt of unfriendly tariffs enacted by foreign nations. The programs we’re announcing today help ensure our nation’s agriculture continues to feed the world.” The programs that USDA will use to assist American farmers include the Market Facilitation Program, develop a Food Purchase and Distribution Program, and a Trade Promotion Program. The aid doesn’t require congressional approval but would be provided through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are expected to appoint their members of the farm bill conference committee this week. Politico says the upper chamber will need to clear some procedural hurdles on the floor before that can officially happen. During the last farm bill debate, 12 senators, including seven from the majority and five from the minority, were appointed to the committee. The task ahead will be to reconcile differences with the House version of the farm bill. These are the final steps before the farm bill reconciliation process can officially get going. The challenge is that House lawmakers leave for the August recess after this week. House Ag Chair Michael Conaway says that even though he won’t be in Washington, he’ll stay in touch with staff members working on reconciling the two versions of the farm bill. McConnell has actually canceled most of the August recess for the Senate, so most of the chamber’s members will be in town for the bulk of the negotiations.

(USDA) Producers in 25 Missouri counties are now eligible to apply for benefits through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program, both administered through the Farm Service Agency. Counties now accepting applications include Adair, Andrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, Dekalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Howard, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Mercer, Nodaway, Putnam, Randolph, Ray, Saline, Schuyler, Scotland and Sullivan.
LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately-owned or cash-leased land. County committees can only accept LFP applications after notification is received by the National Office of a qualifying drought. Eligible livestock producers must complete a CCC-853 and the required supporting documentation no later than Jan. 30, 2019, for 2018 losses.
Producers who have incurred additional operating costs for transporting water to livestock due to an eligible drought can also submit an application for ELAP. An eligible drought means that part or all of a county is designated D3 (extreme drought) or higher as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor (www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu).
Producers must file a notice of loss on form CCC-851 the earlier of 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent to the producer, or by Nov. 1, 2018. Additionally, the deadline to submit an application for payment for 2018 ELAP assistance is Nov. 1, 2018.
To qualify for ELAP, eligible livestock must be: adult or non-adult dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo and beefalo, as well as alpacas, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer, or sheep. Additionally, the livestock must have been owned 60 calendar days prior to the beginning of the drought and be physically located in the county designated as a disaster area due to drought. Adequate livestock watering systems or facilities must have existed before the drought occurred and producers are only eligible if they do not normally transport water to the livestock. Livestock producers should call their local FSA office to make an appointment to sign up for LFP, ELAP and to learn more about eligibility, application and documentation requirements.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a new immigration bill that they say will benefit agriculture. A Pro Farmer report says the Agriculture and Legal Workforce Act would take the place of the current H-2A visa program. It would require farmers, as well as all employers, to use the E-Verify Program to make sure that all their workers are in the United States legally. The new bill actually includes some of the same provisions that were in a broader GOP immigration bill that was voted down recently in the House. The bill would authorize up to 450,000 H-2C visas annually, which would be good for three years. There is some controversial language in the new bill that would require those workers to have health insurance. A press release from the House Judiciary Committee says the H-2C program would be available to temporary and year-round agricultural employers. The release also says the bill provides generous visa allocations to ensure that labor needs are met, gives needed flexibility to avoid farm disruptions, eliminates regulatory burdens, and provides effective means of enforcement and monitoring.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be the only witness to give testimony during a hearing this week before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee. Lighthizer is one of the key Trump administration members at the center of the president’s trade strategy that’s led to retaliatory tariffs from China, Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and others. Many of those tariffs are hitting the farm sector extremely hard and provoking ag groups and farm-state lawmakers to become much more vocal in their opposition to Trump’s tariffs. The opposition is growing after Trump repeated a threat to add even more tariffs to Chinese goods. He told CNBC that he’s “ready to go to $500 billion.” The U.S. originally hit China with $34 billion in tariffs back in July, but then added another $200 billion to that after China matched the first $34 billion. The escalation was combined with White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro’s complete disregard for the damage the tariffs are doing to the ag economy, drawing sharp responses from ag leaders. Navarro told CNBC that the trade losses due to Chinese tariffs amounted to a “rounding error.”