Perdue on Dairy and MFP

Perdue on Dairy and MFP

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett
USDA is working to help dairy farmers through improved insurance coverage and through the Market Facilitation Program.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is encouraging dairy farmers to sign up.

"I think many people were soured by the '14 provisions that didn't turn out the way congress had intended. But this '18 Farm Bill has a safety net that is very healthy along with the insurance provisions that the Farm Bill provided.

The sign up deadline is September 20th.

Perdue also talked about another program to help farmers make up lost revenues due to the trade wars between the US, China, Japan and other countries.

" A dairy farmer or any other kind would rather have a fair crop at a good price. This money through our Market Facilitation Program to our livestock and our produce growers will help tide them over until we get the trade resolved. Not just with China but also Japan and Korea and Morocco and other places where we've done these kind of deals."

Perdue is optimistic on a trade deal in the near future with Japan, while he is less optimistic about China.

Meantime Perdue may have lost some good will after telling a joke that some don't think is all that funny.

Perdue asked an audience of thousands of farmers gathered in Minnesota, "What do you call two farmers in a basement? A whine cellar."

Some laughed at the agriculture secretary's joke, but other farmers booed and denounced Perdue's wisecrack as callous and tone-deaf of the real hardship caused by the Trump administration's trade policies.

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