Trump administration’s bailout for farmers slower than watching corn grow

At 60 days, a hog’s life is a third over. Some fast-growing varieties of fall corn, planted just two months ago, are ready for harvesting. But the Trump administration’s big, big bailouts —  the biggest ever! — promised for the nation’s farmers have been trickling, not flowing to those harmed by the president’s international trade policies.

Only $838 million of the $12 billion has been paid out, reported The New York Times, with just $1 million going divided among a few hundred North Carolina farmers as of Oct. 31, according to the Environmental Working Group.

The USDA announced in late August that payments would start Sept. 4. The money is supposed to help offset the financial impact of retaliatory tariffs levied against US products — the result of Trump’s trade war with China, Canada, Mexico and several other countries. But few farmers have benefitted from the program.

Of the 47,800 farmers and related operations in North Carolina, just 870 have received any money from the USDA. (Some farmers, depending on the crop, aren’t eligible.) The farming operations listed raise dairy cows or hogs, as well as grow wheat, corn, soybeans or sorghum. The average amount per farmer is about $1,200; a third of the recipients received less than $125, according to the EWG database. The EWG’s data is from the USDA.

The top five recipients are in the hog business, with the largest bailout payment of $60,000 going to Nash Pigg Rentals of Bailey. The land business shares an address with a slaughterhouse, Dean Street Processing. Smithfield Foods is not among the beneficiary; the Chinese-owned company was eligible for up to $249,000 in US government aid, but withdrew from the program after USDA and public scrutinty.

Here are the other largest amounts, listed by commodity:

• Soybeans: Meri-Re-Me, Corporation of Belhaven, $28,481
• Corn: Myers, LLC of Jamestown, $19,144
• Dairy cattle: Beam Dairy of Cherryville $17,543
• Sorghum: Hargett Farms, Marshville, $17,180
• Wheat: Weeks & Weeks of Dunn, $7,342

The EWG also reported that 85 farming operations received more than the $125,000 cap; none of those farms is in North Carolina. The watchdog group also found that 1,142 “farmers” in the nation’s 50 largest cities have received bailout payments so far: That includes nine residents of San Francisco, four of Los Angeles, five of New York City and four of Washington, DC, according to the EWG website.