Wheat Growers on Trade Pt 2
I'm Bob Larson. We talked yesterday about what wheat growers need to succeed in the midst of a trade war. The Trump Administration announced Tuesday that $12-billion in assistance was coming for farmers hit by tariffs. But, is that the answer?
Washington Association of Wheat Growers Director Michelle Hennings met with Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue recently and says he's stressed too because he wants to find ways to help farmers ...
HENNINGS ... "But, their mitigation they were talking about is another farm program for farmers. Well, farmers don't necessarily want another farm program. They just want their markets. They want to be able to trade their wheat and be able to do that rather than rely on the government for assistance."
She says the mitigation isn't the answer ...
HENNINGS ... "And, of course, it won't even Band-Aid the problem if it gets really bad. So, it's a really short-term kind of assistance and I'm not sure if it's going to help all that well."
Hennings says getting a new Farm Bill done could help, but there are challenges ...
HENNINGS ... "What I see being the conflict is the nutrition program. I think that they can really come together on the Ag part of it, of the Farm Bill. It's going to be whether they can decide and come together on the nutrition program and that's going to be unfortunate for farmers if they can't."
Hennings says they are talking with Administration officials about ways to find markets for the wheat before harvest ends and they have nowhere to ship it.
