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The Trump Administration has announced another round of payments for farmers, to compensate for lower commodity prices amid trade tensions with China. IOWA Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said it’s needed, because corn and soybean prices are below the cost of producing a crop.
The first set of payments are scheduled to be made in late July or early August, but the final calculations aren’t set. The payments to individual farmers will be based on the impact trade has had on corn and soybean prices in their county.
Survivors of natural disasters across the country, including Iowans recovering from flooding, are waiting for Congress to approve a disaster aid bill.
one of Iowa’s senators would like to see a bill free of partisan wrangling.
Republican Joni Ernst says the House disaster aid bill was dead-on-arrival in the Senate because it included partisan language, such as possible funding for Planned Parenthood. She says the Senate needs to act quickly to help those recovering from recent flooding as well as wildfires and hurricanes many months ago.
0523ernst1 Some of those folks have long been forgotten and while the floods are fresh in everybody’s minds, we need to remember that there are still folks from last year, and communities, that haven’t received that type of assistance yet. (:12)
The aid package could total 17-billion dollars and Ernst says she’s hopeful the vote will come before the Memorial Day recess. Senator Chuck Grassley has also called on the Senate to approve the aid package before going away for the long weekend.
