Posts

Showing posts with the label farmers

Farmers and the Paycheck Protection Program

Congress has moved to allocate additional money to the Paycheck Protection Program and farmers could benefit.



Bob Rhea of the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association says some farmers should be able to apply for the government-backed SBA loans, “We believe farmers are eligible to participate in the PPP, the Paycheck Protection Program, under the CARES Act. They don’t specifically identify agriculture as a participating entity but in the very broad scope of things they say any eligible business with less than 500 employees is eligible to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program.”

PPP is administered through local banks and is available through Farm Credit offices. Bob Rhea says it is a loan but one that can be easily forgiven. Here’s how self-employed farmers and others would make the paycheck calculation, “It does include a very unique forgiveness provision for a Small Business Administration loan. It is really based on eight weeks out of 52. Approximately 15% of their 2019 income is the part can be forgiven for a self-employed person. For those that are seeking loans for their payroll, it will be measured on the payroll they incur in the eight weeks on the loaned funds after they are disbursed.”

Rhea says there are a few other pieces that can be used to generate the loan-forgiveness provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program. These include mortgage interest, rents, and utilities costs. Seventy-five percent of the disbursed funds must be used for payroll expenses. Check with your local bank or Farm Credit office to see if your farm qualifies.

Breeding Barley to Make Budweiser


You might think of Anheuser Busch as a beverage company producing great American beers like Budweiser. However, as Todd Gleason reports from Idaho Falls, Idaho, it is a highly integrated agricultural company.

Trade Tariff Farmer Compensation Package

The Trump Administration’s has a $12 billion dollar plan to compensate farmers for damages done so far by the trade dispute with China and other nations. Here’s what’s known, so far, about how the plan will work.

The largest part of that money will be paid out to soybean producers, though direct payments will also be made for other commodities including corn, wheat, sorghum, cotton, dairy, and pork. USDA Chief Economist Rob Johansson told reporters on the line the initial damage calculation has already been made, “We’ve calculated what the damage is to producers facing these illegal tariff actions. We are working out the specific details and will be working it out as a rule making action in a couple of weeks and that will have our estimated rates. As the Secretary mentioned, this will be playing out over time and we do look to allowing for the Administration to successfully negotiate a deal here with our trading partners. And so, the program will be flexible to allow that.”

Again, Johansson says the financial damage part has already been calculated, though he also says specific details have yet to be published and or worked out. Should the trade disputes be settled the program is meant to flexible.

This was not said, but it makes sense that a farmer who harvests and sells soybeans prior to the settlement would get a payment, one who sells after the settlement may not.

Assistant Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, Brad Karmen says FSA, the Farm Service Agency, will be responsible for the sign up, “So we are going to allow producers, we are talking about a September sign-up, and it will probably go for many months. So, producers will have time to visit there FSA count y office. And in order to run this program we need producers to harvest their crop. So, producers that harvest their crop, like wheat for example which in on the list and many of those producers have harvested already. They may be able to get their payment earlier than somebody like corn or soybeans that doesn’t harvest until October. But we need producers to harvest so that we know their production in order to calculate a payment.”

Recapping then… the the bulk of the $12 billion dollars is intended to compensate soybean farmers for damages to their market. The initial calculation has, it appears, already been made but may be tweaked. Sign-up will be done at local FSA offices. Payments will begin once producers provide actual production figures to the FSA. And, the program may change or end prior to payments being made should the Administration settle trade disputes.

As of July 12th, U.S. farmers were expected to produce 4.3 billion bushels of soybeans this season.

MarketMaker to Connect Illinois Farmers Markets

A University of Illinois developed online database and marketing tool for farmers has matured into an independent business. MarketMaker is now working to better connect food to consumers through the Illinois Farmers Market Association.