By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA has pledged up to another $16 billion to help U.S. farmers stung by the trade war with China.

Under the aid program announced May 23, as much as $14.5 billion in direct payments will be made for such crops as corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa hay, and canola. The Market Facilitation Program (MFP) will also provide payments to dairy and hog producers, and for specialty crop growers of tree nuts, cranberries, and fresh sweet cherries and grapes.

Other eligible crops are barley, crambe, dry peas, extra-long staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long- and medium-grain rice, mustard seed, dried beans, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, safflower, sesame seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, sunflower seed, temperate japonica rice, and upland cotton.

Payments will be made in three installments, the first of which is scheduled for late July or early August, USDA said. The second and third installments are planned for November and early January 2020 – but will be evaluated as market conditions and trade opportunities dictate, according to the agency.

Farmers will be paid based on a single county rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings to those crops in aggregate in 2019, USDA said.

“Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019 and therefore will not distort planting decisions,” the agency stated. “Moreover, total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings.”

Farmers won’t receive payments if they don’t plant a crop, noted Rob Johansson, USDA chief economist. Officials will look at damage from tariffs in each county, along with historical production data, to come up with a payment rate for each county, he said.

For dairy, producers will receive a per-cwt. payment based on production history. Pork farmers will be paid based on hog and pig inventory for a later-specified time frame. Specialty crop growers will be paid based on 2019 acres of production.

The USDA said information on eligibility and payment rates will be released later. The program is authorized under the Commodity Credit Corp. Charter Act and will be administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

The tariff relief package also includes $1.4 billion to purchase surplus commodities such as fruits, vegetables, some processed foods, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and milk for distribution to food banks, schools, and outlets serving low-income individuals.

In addition, $100 million has been allocated to develop new export markets on behalf of producers.

This is the second MFP package the Trump administration will administer for farm losses. Last year it approved $12 billion, most of which was direct payments paid on half eligible product owners’ 2018 actual production.

“The plan we are announcing today ensures farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners,” explained USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue last Thursday. “Our team at USDA reflected on what worked well and gathered feedback on last year’s program to make this one even stronger and more effective for farmers.

“Our farmers work hard, are the most productive in the world, and we aim to match their enthusiasm and patriotism as we support them.”

The American Soybean Assoc. welcomed the Trump administration’s effort to “bridge the gap during this difficult time,” but said a second round of financial support is only a partial and temporary solution.

“The key word from today’s announcement is ‘facilitation,’” explained Davie Stephens, the organization’s president. “Trade assistance will only facilitate soy growers’ ability to farm, not make their losses whole or tariff woes disappear long term. Trade assistance will only help in the short term.”

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said it looks forward to working with the administration to restore favorable access to China. “The U.S. pork industry has been one of the most adversely affected sectors, receiving a one-two punch in the form of a 50 percent punitive tariff from China on top of the existing 12 percent duty and, until recently, a 20 percent punitive tariff from Mexico,” said David Herring, NPPC president.

“This trade aid will help repair some of the damage inflicted upon U.S. pork producers.”

The aid package is an improvement over last year’s MFP, the National Farmers Union (NFU) said, but noted it still fails to provide consistent and adequate relief for American agriculture.

“We are pleased that USDA will be providing payments for a broader range of commodities than were covered under last year’s program,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “We also appreciate that producers of all covered commodities will receive equitable support. At the same time, basing payments on 2019 planted acres fails to help those who have faced or are facing impossible planting conditions.

“Ultimately, this package is only a short-term fix for a very long-term problem. Our ongoing trade wars have destroyed our reputation as a reliable supplier and have left family farmers with swelling grain stores and empty pockets.”

Scott Irwin, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, criticized the lack of details from USDA.

“I think it is inexcusable that the USDA did not announce the payment rates,” he wrote on Twitter. “Cleary, the USDA is trying not to influence planting decisions, but someone wants the political glory of helping famers while leaving out a critical detail.

“As best I can tell (the) Trump administration has added considerably to the uncertainty regarding remaining acreage decisions for 2019, not lessened it.”

Irwin said if he read the USDA’s announcement correctly, prevent-plant acres won’t be eligible for direct payments. “So what if Mother Nature pushes planting past (the) crop insurance prevent date?” he added.

“I wanted to plant corn but I literally could not, and so cannot get the payment on my prevent-plant corn acres. It seems really unfair to farmers who by no fault of their own cannot plant corn and cannot get the apparently fixed payment per acre.”