Markets & News: Signal to Noise with Jim Wiesemeyer

USDA promised details of the Coronavirus Food Aid Plan (CFAP) in a webinar on Thursday this week.  That webinar ended up being painfully short and painfully short on details. 

When will we get the rules for the ag aid program? Will USDA still be able to meet their target of sending the first round of direct payments in early July? Pro Farmer Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer has the latest in this week's DC Signal to Noise Podcast.

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The waiting game continues for vital details of USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The proposed rules for the ag aid package were delivered to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) this week. Pro Farmer Policy Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer expects those rules to be unveiled by USDA early next week with new payment caps. 

In this week's DC Signal to Noise, Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal News Director John Herath and Milk Editor Anna-Lisa Laca share what we do and don't know about the aid program details. The trio also look at how the coronavirus aid could evolve into a dramatic change in how farm programs are legislated.

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In this week's DC Signal to Noise Podcast, Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesmeyer takes USDA to task for a slow response to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly when it comes to meat packing plants. He looks at how farmers are still waiting for details on the Coronavirus Food Aid Program and how packing plants still need supplies to protect their workers.

Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal news director John Herath and milk editor Anna-Lisa Laca also analyze House Agriculture Committee Collin Peterson's call for legislative authority and funding for USDA to pay farmers and ranchers for euthanized animals.

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There is a growing drumbeat of farm organizations, legislators and ag economists calling for USDA to raise or eliminate payment caps on coronavirus aid payments. Pro Farmer Policy Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer says the current caps will not stand.

The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) caps payments per commodity at $125,000 and for all commodities at $250,000 per applicant. This week's DC Signal to Noise Podcast looks at how those payments are a drop in the bucket compared to the losses experienced by dairy and pork producers in particular and what may be done to correct the shortfalls of the CFAP funding.

Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal News Director John Herath and Milk Editor Anna-Lisa Laca also look back at the growing string of packing plant closures and what needs to be done to keep both the food supply and workers safe.

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Gregg Doud, the chief ag negotiator for the office of the U.S.Trade Representative, sits alone in the fourth floor of the USTR office amid the COVID-19 quarantine. He's using the solitude to double-down on work to enact the Phase One trade agreement with China. 

On this week's DC Signal to Noise, Doud offers and in-depth look at what still needs to be done, what is already in place for ag trade with China and where USTR is looking next for a trade deal.

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Who can apply for small business loans under the CARES Act? What do farm businesses need to wary of? Will you qualify if you have H2A workers? This week on DC Signal to Noise we called on the answer man, Paul Neiffer of Clifton Larson Allen to clear up the confusion over the COVID-19 aid package.

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Damage to the dairy sector has increased this week, with raw milk dumping increasing in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer expects USDA to announce some form of assistance for dairy producers next week that will tap into $9.5 billion of COVID-19 emergency funding appropriated by Congress.

This week's DC Signal to Noise Podcast includes updates on how COVID-19 relief for agriculture might be structured and details on the deterioration of ethanol demand and how that is impacting the livestock industry.

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The House on Friday approved the Senate's $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The bill gives USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue broad authority to use additional ag funding to assist cattlemen, dairy producers, produce growers and others amidst the pandemic according to Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer.

In this week's DC SIgnal to Noise Podcast, Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal dairy editory Anna-Lisa Laca and news director John Herath analyze the details of the COVID recovery plan and look at the economic challenges facing the dairy and ethanol industries.

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As Congress rushes to find agreement on a trillion-dollar plus COVID-19 aid package, ag groups are pushing for assistance for the cattle and ethanol industries among others. Jim Wiesemeyer has the latest details on the talks and the impacts of coronavirus on agriculture in this week's DC Signal to Noise podcast with John Herath and Anna-Lisa Laca.

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How Coronavirus is Impacting Ag

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