The USDA announced $12 billion in aid Tuesday to help farmers hit by the Trump administration鈥檚 trade wars. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue called the payments a short-term solution that gives the president time to negotiate new trade policy.
And Oregon farmers like Darren Padget will likely be eligible for the federal aid.
Padget grows wheat in Grass Valley, southeast of The Dalles. He said he exports almost all of his crop to Asia, and this year his harvest was sold in advance. But with longtime export markets closing because of retaliatory tariffs, Padget doesn鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen next year. He also doesn鈥檛 know if he鈥檒l sign up for federal assistance.
鈥淨uite honestly, I'd rather just have open markets 鈥� sell my wheat for what the world demand is,鈥� Padget said by phone, as he sat in a semi-truck taking a load of grain to storage.
Padget said his family has been cultivating relationships with buyers in Asia for 60 years, since the end of World War II. And he can鈥檛 put a price on those relationships.
Still, Padget is waiting to see how to react to the administration鈥檚 trade policies.
鈥淚'm cautiously optimistic,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause has a track record of getting things done. But, it's a bit unorthodox to what we're used to in the political world ... But, you know, it's hard not to wonder. That's for sure. I鈥檝e got to remain calm, level-headed and pay attention.鈥�
The USDA鈥檚 plan includes three programs. The largest one, officials said Tuesday, is a market facilitation program that would provide incremental payments to producers of the hardest hit commodities: wheat, soybeans, sorghum, dairy and corn among them. Another program would buy food commodities directly from producers and distribute them to food banks and nutrition programs. And the third program is a vaguely-defined trade promotion initiative, intended to develop new export markets.
Oregon agriculture thrives on foreign trade, said Gail Greenman, director of national affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau.
鈥淲e grow 220 recognized commodities," she said, 鈥渁nd 40 percent of that leaves the country.鈥�
As for which Oregon farms stand to bear the brunt of a trade war, Greenman said the list is too long to rattle off.
鈥淕rass feed, wheat, beef, dairy, apples, onions, blueberries. All of those are so heavily dependent on trade.鈥�
At Tuesday鈥檚 press briefing, USDA officials didn鈥檛 say when the new farm payments will roll out, how the payments will be calculated or what the sign-up process will be.
Copyright 2018
