US eyes announcement of farmer relief package in coming weeks
China has yet to book 1 shipment of the US oilseed this season
The Trump administration will soon provide additional financial aid to American farmers, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins saying an announcement could come “perhaps in the next couple of weeks.”
“We are currently in conversations here at the White House, across the government,” Rollins told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re looking at our soybean, corn, wheat, sorghum and cotton farmers who’re facing very, very difficult times.”
Crop revenues have been under pressure since before the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, due to falling commodity prices while rising costs for seeds, fertilizer and equipment have further squeezed profit margins.
Producers are also grappling with China’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The Asian nation — the world’s largest soybean importer — has yet to book a single shipment of the US oilseed this season, fueling anxiety among farmers as this year’s harvest moves ahead.
— By Lauren Dezenski (Bloomberg)
