Democrats Blast Trump Trade Aid as Favoring Southern Farmers
- They say Midwest and Northern Plains farmers are shortchanged
- USDA says payment formula based on trade damage not region
Soybeans are unloaded from a grain wagon during harvest in Wyanet, Illinois.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Senate Democrats attacked President Donald Trump’s $28 billion farm trade aid program for “vast inequities” favoring Southern farmers at the expense of their counterparts in the Midwest and Northern Plains, growers of cotton over soybeans, and large producers over smaller ones.
“The Trump administration is using a flawed formula that helps big, wealthy farms and billion-dollar foreign-owned companies, while small farms get left behind,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “The USDA must stop picking winners and losers, and ensure all of America’s farmers get the help they need -- not just a lucky few.”