Deadline for farm bailout money applications has been extended

Source: WOI-TV

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced on Tuesday that he's extended the deadline for agricultural producers to apply for payments under the Market Facilitation Program as provided by the trade mitigation program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The original deadline had been January 15, 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.

Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:

“President Trump instructed me, as Secretary of Agriculture, to craft a program that would protect farmers from unjustified retaliatory tariffs from foreign nations. As part of that package, the Market Facilitation Program has been making payments directly to farmers who have suffered trade damage. Using existing funds, we were able to keep FSA offices open as long as possible, but unfortunately had to close them when funding ran out. We will therefore extend the application deadline for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices were closed, once the government shutdown ends."

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By: Sarah Beckman
Posted: Jan 08, 2019 01:56 PM CST
Updated: Jan 08, 2019 01:58 PM CST


Read more: https://www.weareiowa.com/news/local-news/deadline-for-farm-bailout-money-applications-has-been-extended/1692212722

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Source: Washington Post

As shutdown stalls farm bailout, Trump team extends application deadline

By Jeff Stein January 8 at 3:00 PM

President Trump’s program to send billions of dollars to farmers hurt by his trade war with China has been stalled by the partial government shutdown, as the Agriculture Department office responsible for administering the payouts is closed for lack of funding.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Tuesday that the department has extended the deadline for farmers to apply for bailout payments. The application window was slated to close Jan. 15, but Perdue said Tuesday that the deadline will be extended until at least weeks after the shutdown ends.

The shutdown caused the Agriculture Department to run out of money on Dec. 28 to keep Farm Service Agency offices open.

“Using existing funds, we were able to keep FSA offices open as long as possible, but unfortunately had to close them when funding ran out,” Perdue said in a statement. “We will therefore extend the application deadline for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices were closed, once the government shutdown ends.”

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/shutdown-stalls-trump-farm-bailout-created-in-response-to-trade-war/2019/01/08/288dc730-137c-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html