COVID-19 Aid Package For Farmers

Earlier this week the USDA announced some details on the COVID-19 aid package for farmers. In this first round there is a total of $19 billion dollars. A total of $16 billion dollars will be designed as direct payments and $3 billion dollars will be used for purchases of ag products including meat, dairy and produce that will support farmers and provide food to those in need.

Here are some of the details that we know at this point. $5.5 billion will got to cattle producers, $2.9 billion for dairy, $1.6 billion for hog producers. There will be $3.9 billion for row crop farmers and $2.1 billion for specialty crop producers. Then there is $500 million allocated for other crops.

There is a payment limit of $ 125,000 per commodity with an overall limit of $250,000 per individual or entity. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said "there almost certainly will be more aid to announce in the coming months." I also read that Secretary Perdue hoped to have the first payments go out by the end of May and those would be for livestock producers.