This week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will be allocating $4.7 billion in payments to farmers affected by the trade war with China and the rest of the world. A bulk of the bailout will go to soybean farmers, with the rest being spread out to wheat, cotton, and cattle farmers.
But farmers, an enormous voting bloc for President Donald Trump, are not pleased by the cash. They would much prefer to do business.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that farmers would rather prefer to trade than to receive government aid.
“There’s not a farmer in America that would rather not have a good crop and a fair price than a government check,” he said. “That’s what they do. That’s what they put their equity on the line every year for.”
The remaining $7.3 billion will be made available after the Labor Day long weekend.
According to the USDA, payments to farmers will be based on production per farmer, not an industry average.
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