Full assistance from the USDA's Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and other government programs remains to be seen, and for some farmers, maintaining previous income levels has been a major challenge.
A nine and a half hour drive from Illinois to Nebraska is a regular day in the life for corn and soybean farmer Mark Tuttle. Five days a week, the DeKalb County native transports seeds and other agricultural products, his workdays sometimes nearing 12 hours on the road.
In May, Trump said the aid package would enable farmers to do well and “make the same kind of money.” “I’m driving trucks to Nebraska because farming isn’t paying me,” he said. “It’s been a struggle to make ends meet, and MFP is just a small band-aid on an open wound.” Tom Corcoran of the New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association said tariffs caused the market to drop significantly. Whereas in 2018 he sold his soybeans at $9.50 to $10 a bushel, Corcoran now struggles to sell them at above $8.50.
Like Tuttle, the New York farmer signed up for MFP, which he says does not pay very much, roughly less than $40 an acre depending on the county. Similarly to other farmers, Pritchard is signed up for MFP and maintains his income by caring for other community residents’ horses, a task he says he would not be doing if the effects of the tariffs were not so detrimental.
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