Trump announces $19 billion for U.S. farmers hurt by coronavirus

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to greatly help U.S. farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers and mass purchases of produce, meat and other products.

“American agriculture has been hard-hit, like almost all of America, with the coronavirus, and President Trump is standing with our farmers and all Americans to make sure that we all get through this national emergency,” U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.

The USDA in a statement said it'll partner with regional and local distributors to get $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat to be distributed for food banks, churches and aid groups.

The agency said it will make monthly purchases totaling about $100 million each of fresh produce, dairy products and meat products. Long lines have formed at U.S. food banks in recent weeks as millions have grown to be unemployed because of lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and ranchers struggle to get their goods to advertise because of disruptions due to the pandemic, forcing some to get rid of supplies.

“Having to dump milk or plow under vegetables ready to market isn't just financially distressing but it’s heartbreaking aswell for all those that produce them,” Perdue said.

Direct payments will be sent “as quickly as possible” to farmers and ranchers as farm commodity producers have observed “unprecedented losses,” Perdue said.

Funding for the immediate aid program will be pulled together from numerous sources, including recent coronavirus-related aid laws passed by Congress and other funding authorities that USDA has usage of, according to Perdue.

Further details of the program will be released at a later date, the USDA said in a statement.

Reuters reported on Monday that the USDA will spend billions in the initial phase of its plan to bolster the nation’s food supply chain against the impacts of the outbreak.

Several UNITED STATES beef and pork packing plants have shut down as workers have fallen ill or died from the virus. Smithfield Foods, for instance, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it could shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the united states was moving “perilously near to the edge” in supplies for grocers.