Senior leadership in the Trump administration have told journalists in the past day or two that the assistance that the President talked about late last week could be announced in days not weeks or months like the Disaster Bill has been.

Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney told journalists in Washington this morning that this is an all hands on deck issue. Americas farmers need to understand that the Administration has its back according to reports. Secretary Perdue has been quoted as saying assistance in response to the Chinese deal breaking down is a very high priority. The Secretary is currently on a tour of Asian countries this week.

What this version of assistance program will look like is still unknown. The first program was heavily tilted toward soybeans and they didn’t plant nearly as much this year as last. Production for last year would leave out cotton farmers and others hurt by hurricanes etc. Yes, our friends in DC are wide aware of these issues. Its obvious it will need to have a creative approach but it seems it will also be swift.

Stay tuned for this fast moving topic.

DSF