(LEARFIELD) – The National Corn Growers Association is asking farmers to proactively reach out to the White House to raise awareness on the hardship they are facing in relation to the trade war with China and its impact on profits.
Minnesota Corn Growers Director Adam Birr says if the trade war continues, they want the president to know they will need more than the one-cent per bushel subsidy they received last year.
“It’s never going to make us whole, the payments,” said Birr. “But at least something that’s more commensurate with what the tariffs have done to the market. We also really wanted to let the administration know it’s not just trade and aide package, it’s also that we need a break on some front.”
Birr says some experts believe the trade war cost corn producers about 44 cents a bushel in 2018.
“We didn’t want to be prescriptive on that front in terms of a call to action, because we don’t know what will all go into the calculation,” said Birr.
He says another consideration is that when the first round of trade aid was announced last year, all the crops were planted. But, much of the corn crop remains unplanted this year because of wet weather.
