Following a discussion with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday, South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson says the USDA is still struggling with the big needs for agriculture in the COVID-19 pandemic. “The $23.5 billion we secured one month ago for the CARES Act seemed like at the time it would be sufficient. In the last month, things have gotten a lot worse. There is an understanding that we will need to be doing more for farmers and ranchers,” says Johnson. “I did get the sense from the secretary that getting direct payments out in the next few weeks would be difficult, but in the next four weeks it could be possible.” Johnson says payment limits continue to be a hang-up in discussions. “Those payments make a lot of sense in a normal time, but right now, we’re dealing with a pork industry that’s getting battered. You don’t have to be a big producer to be hurt by those payment limits.”
News Categories
Latest RRFN Podcasts
Subscribe to RRFN
Get a weekly digest from RRFN to stay up-to-date on all the latest news in agriculture.