- The Department of Agriculture plans to deploy $16B in government funds to pay U.S. farmers hurt by the trade war with China and wet weather that kept many from planting a crop this spring.
- The USDA will pay $15-$150/acre, based on a farm's location and this year's expected production; farmers in the cotton-growing Mississippi Delta states stand to be the greatest beneficiaries of the program, according to a Reuters analysis.
- The program covers 29 commodity crops including soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum and upland cotton, and covers dairy and hog farmers, as well as farms that grow 10 specialty crops such as almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cranberries and fresh sweet cherries.
- Agricultural trade groups welcome the move, although some farmers question disparities in payment rates across different parts of the U.S. and whether the program could favor some farmers over others.
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