The 2019 edition of USDA’s Market Facilitation Program was unveiled July 25, and payments to farmers nationally will range from $15 to $150 per acre. Sign-up began July 29, and you have until Dec. 6 to do so. Often referred to as MFP 2.0, this latest round of federal payments is designed to soften the blow from the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.

The $16 billion trade bailout package for 2019 is the Trump administration’s second version. Last year USDA provided $12 billion to offset trade damage caused by tariff disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Of this year’s $16 billion, $14.5 billion will go to producer payments, $1.4 billion for commodity purchases and $100 million for USDA’s Ag Trade Promotion Program.

MFP payments will go to row crop, specialty crop and livestock producers. This year’s payments are provided county by county and will be the same for neighboring growers, regardless of crop planted. Bill Northey, U.S. undersecretary of agriculture, says USDA designed this year’s MFP program to try to avoid large payment disparities between neighboring counties. Payments are based on overall acreage rather than by crop, so farmers wouldn’t feel compelled to plant a particular crop such as soybeans to qualify for the financial aid.

Timetable for MFP payments

USDA will provide $15 an acre for farmers who planted cover crops on prevented planting acres: acres where they were unable to plant corn, soybeans or other crops due to an extremely wet spring. It’s unclear how many acres might not have been planted in Iowa and across the nation in 2019 due to poor weather conditions.

Farmers could begin receiving MFP payments by mid- to late August. Depending on the county where they farm, Iowa growers will receive $40 to $79 an acre. China’s purchases of U.S. soybeans dropped 74% to $3.1 billion in 2018, and sales of U.S. pork to China fell 21% to $852 million. Mexico’s purchases of U.S. pork declined 13% to $1.3 billion. Pork producers will get $11 per hog from MFP to help offset losses; dairy farmers will get 20 cents per hundredweight of milk produced.

USDA says U.S. farmers could get up to $14.5 billion in direct payments for 2019 paid in three sets — with half of the total assistance provided in the first checks. Whether or not a second set of payments for 2019 is made in November and final payments in January depends on progress made in U.S. trade negotiations.

Message from farmers clear

“We appreciate efforts by President Trump and USDA to support farmers affected by trade disputes,” says Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture. “The message from farmers is loud and clear: we want trade, not aid. We must secure trade agreements. I urge Congress and the Trump administration to make that a priority. It is imperative Congress pass the USMCA trade agreement as quickly as possible and that we secure trade deals with China and Japan.”

Farmers who filed a prevented planting claim and planted a cover crop certified by the Farm Service Agency with the potential to harvest it qualify for a $15-per-acre MFP payment. Acres that were never planted in 2019 aren’t eligible for MFP payment. Sign-up for cover crop cost-share statewide is available through the Iowa Department of Ag & Land Stewardship.

Following are resources from USDA and the state of Iowa for farmers: