Deadline for Market Facilitation Program looms
by February 6, 2019 5:57 pm 215 views
Farmers looking to get trade adjustment assistance from the USDA have until February 14th to sign up with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in order to be eligible for payment assistance.
The Market Facilitation Program – administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency – will provide direct payments to eligible producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, hogs, shelled almonds, and fresh sweet cherries.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue extended the deadline for agricultural producers to apply for payments under the Market Facilitation Program in January.
The original deadline had been Jan. 15, 2019, but farmers have been unable to apply for the program since the lapse in federal funding caused the closure of USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices at the end of business on December 28, 2018.
The payments were promised by the federal government to offset losses impacting agricultural producers affected by the Trump administration’s trade and tariff policies, in particular with China. Initially, $12 billion in funding was allocated for the Market Facilitation Program.