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Agreement on budget brings US farmers 31 billion
The agreement on the government budget reached at the last minute in the United States last week will benefit the agricultural sector with $31 billion. Part of it consists of compensation for income loss, another part is to make up for losses caused by disasters.
$10 billion is budgeted for the former, $21 billion for the latter. The duration of the old Farm Bill has also been extended until next spring.
The majority of the support funds go to arable farms. They are struggling with the consequences of adverse weather conditions and declining product prices. Separate compensations per crop and per hectare have been established for them. A smaller portion of the funds goes to livestock farms.
Although the amounts involved are impressive, agriculture has not received everything it wanted. There has been strong lobbying for additional support for the cultivation of crops needed for biofuel production (E-150). An additional $20 billion would be required for this. However, this funding will not be provided. Incoming President Donald Trump intends to tighten the purse strings more.
Next spring, a new Farm Bill must be presented by the president who is not yet installed. This law will include new rules to ensure that farmers insure their crops more frequently and better against adverse weather conditions. This is expected to reduce the need for the government to allocate additional billions for emergency aid.
